Rear Admiral Joseph M. Vojvodich (VAH-vah-ditch) served as the U.S. Coast Guard’s Program Executive Officer (PEO) and Director of Acquisition Programs. His duties included management oversight of all Coast Guard acquisition programs and projects for the modernization and recapitalization of surface, air, command and control, and logistics assets in support of the Coast Guard's multiple maritime missions.
Prior to reporting as PEO of the Acquisition Directorate, he served as Commander of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, responsible for search and rescue, environmental response, port safety and security, inspections of domestic and foreign vessels, ice breaking missions, and fisheries enforcement operations for coastal Connecticut, Long Island Sound and offshore 200 nautical miles.
Prior to assignment at Sector Long Island Sound, Admiral Vojvodich was the Acquisition Program Manager for the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) projects where he oversaw a portfolio of five major acquisition projects.
His afloat assignments include a tour as Commanding Officer of the multi-national crewed Caribbean Support Tender, USCGC GENTIAN; Executive Officer on USCGC STORIS; Commanding Officer of USCGC SAPELO; and Navigator on the USCGC MIDGETT. He supervised the Coast Guard’s research and development portfolio at the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate. His other shore assignments include technical and management positions at the Telecommunications Branch of the Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic and at the Network Engineering Branch at Telecommunications and Information Systems Command.
Born in South Korea, he was raised in Richmond, Ohio and graduated from Jefferson Union High School. Rear Admiral Vojvodich is a graduate of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy with honors. He earned a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and has completed the Naval War College nonresidential curriculum. In 2001, he obtained his Project Manager Professional certification. He is a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces where he earned a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy. He is a certified Level III Acquisition Professional and holds the Chief Information Officer certificate from the National Defense University.
Rear Admiral Joseph Vojvodich retired on 1 August 2020.