Vice Adm. Kent H. Williams reports to his new command from his most recent assignment as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Coast Guard and Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC. There, he was responsible for the management, administration and allocation of resources of the Coast Guard and served as architect of the Coast Guard’s Streamlining plan. These initiatives led the Coast Guard through a reorganization of its support and entire command control structures on a scale not seen since the end of World War II.
Before that, Vice Adm. Williams commanded the First Coast Guard District, Boston, MA. In that assignment, he also commanded Maritime Defense Zone Sector One and served as the Secretary of Transportation’s Regional Emergency Transportation Coordinator for the Northeast during one of the most severe winters of this century.
Upon promotion to flag rank, he served his first as the Coast Guard’s Resource Director/Comptroller and then as Chief, Office of Acquisition, at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. While Resource Director, he implemented the Chief Financial Officers Act and served as National Vice President of the American Society of Military Comptrollers. As Chief, Office of Acquisition, he was responsible for the procurement of all major systems, including cutters, boats, aircraft, and information technology.
Vice Adm. Williams’ commands include the medium-endurance cutter Durable, several patrol boats, both in Cape May, NJ and Da Nang, Vietnam, as well as Coast Guard Station Cape May, NJ.
Vice Adm. Williams received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, in 1965. He is a distinguished graduate of both the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA (Master of Science degree in Financial Management) and the Naval War College, Newport, RI. He also graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Sloan Fellow with a Master of Science degree in Management Administration.
His major awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (4), Bronze Star with combat “V”, Meritorious Service Medal (3), Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation and the Cutterman’s Insignia.
Vice Adm. Williams is married to the former Geraldine M. B.; both are natives of Forty Fort, PA. They have three adult, married daughters: Deborah, Rebecca and Jessica.