Master Chief Kristen Santini assumed the duties as Reserve Command Master Chief at Atlantic Area, Portsmouth, Virginia on March 24, 2026. Her primary responsibility is to advise the Area Commander on issues and initiatives pertaining to all reserve Coast Guard members and their families. Master Chief Santini is an Environmental Protection Specialist assigned to the Office of Environmental Management within the Shore Program Executive Office at Coast Guard Headquarters as a civilian.
Master Chief Santini’s previous assignments include CGC FARALLON, Miami, FL; Waterways Management, Sector San Diego, San Diego, CA; Prevention Department, MSU Chicago, Willowbrook, IL; Incident Management Division, Sector Maryland-NCR, Baltimore, MD; Silver Badge, Sector Maryland-NCR, Baltimore, MD; and Gold Badge, Great Lakes District, Cleveland, OH. She has been deployed in support of operations for Deepwater Horizon, Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment (RAID) Team, Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Idalia, Hurricane Lee, CG-092 Historian’s Office, and CG-092 National Coast Guard Museum.
Master Chief Santini holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Eastern Illinois University, Masters of Forensic Science from National University, and Masters of Arts in Transportation and Logistics Management from American Military University. She is a graduate of the Chief Petty Officer’s Academy Reserve Class XL, the Midgrade Officer and Civilian Transition Course 2 (MOCTC-2), and Senior Enlisted Leaders Course (SELC). Her current qualifications include Federal-On Scene Coordinator Representative (FOSCR), Pollution Investigator (PI), Waterways Management Representative (WWM), Facility Inspector (FI), Explosive Handling Supervisor (EHS), Incident Command System (ICS) Planning Section Chief (PSC3), ICS Liaison Officer (LOFR3), ICS Division/Group Supervisor (DIVS), and CG Agency Representative.
Originally from Frankfort, IL, Master Chief Santini enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in January 2006. Her personal awards include Army and two Coast Guard Commendation Medals, five Coast Guard Achievement Medals, three Coast Guard Commandant’s Letter of Commendations, Armed Forces Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon, Coast Guard Overseas Service Ribbon, Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon, and other personal, unit and team awards. In addition to various other personal and unit level awards, she wears the Marine Science insignia, the Command Master Chief (Silver Badge) insignia, and the Command Master Chief (Gold Badge) insignia.