Retired Coast Guard Rear Admiral J. Timothy Riker was born and reared in Lima, Ohio. He graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College – now University – (Berea, Ohio – 1970) with degrees in history and government, and Capital University Law School (Columbus, Ohio – 1977). He established his law practice in Cincinnati in 1979, and continues to actively practice.
RADM Riker enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1970, was commissioned at Officer Candidate School in 1971, and served aboard two North Atlantic Ocean cutters while on active duty. As a Reservist, he was recalled to active duty four times, including overseas assignments in Operations Desert Storm (N-5, Harbor Defense Command, Theater of Operations), and Uphold Democracy (Haiti) (Commanding Officer, Port Security Unit 301/Harbor Defense Commander, Cap Haitien).
Other recalls included duties as Chief, Defense Operations Division (Office of Operations and Law Enforcement), and as Director of Reserves, both tours performed at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C. In 2000, RADM Riker retired as the Senior Member of the Coast Guard Reserve.
In 2001 he was recalled from retirement for an assignment relating to the Great Lakes pilotage program, and returned to retired status in 2003. In 2006, he was again recalled and assigned as Director, Commissioning Cell, United States Deployable Operations Group; then as Deputy Director of Coast Guard Intelligence and Criminal Investigations; then as Director of Response Policy; then as Director, Maritime Enforcement Specialist Rating Implementation Team; and finally, as Chair, Doctrine Study Group. This Group’s study culminated in the promulgation of an updated Coast Guard Publication One, regarding which RADM Riker was personally involved from its original publication. Publication One is the Coast Guard’s capstone document. It encompasses the history, culture, and operational principles of the Service. It serves as a strategic foundation for the execution of the Coast Guard’s eleven statutory missions. He returned to retired status in 2010.
RADM Riker’s senior three personal decorations are the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal with Gold Star in lieu of a second award, Legion of Merit with two Gold Stars, and Meritorious Service Medal with Operational Distinguishing Device and Gold Star.
Currently, RADM Riker serves as Chair, Board of Regents, Foundation for Coast Guard History. Additionally, he is a Board of Trustees member of the Coast Guard Foundation. RADM Riker is a Navy League Member, and a Golden Life Member of the U.S. Naval Institute (fifty consecutive years membership).
RADM Riker is a Baldwin-Wallace University Alumni Merit Award recipient. His professional life has included community activities. Among these was service as Secretary, Greater Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission (1982-1988), and as Chief of Operations/General Counsel for U.S. Congressman David S. Mann (OH - 1st Dist.) (1993-1995).
In 1971 he married Miriam Swords, now deceased, of Cedarhurst, Long Island, New York. He is the father of two daughters: Katharine, also an attorney; and Alison, with her extended family including son-in-law MSgt Steven Peterson, USMC, and three grandchildren, two of whom attend universities in Cincinnati.