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April 19 (UPI) -- Vice Adm. Linda L. Fagan was nominated as the next Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday. The nomination by President Joe Biden, pending approval by the U.S. Senate, would make Fagan the Coast Guard's first female four-star admiral, the branch said in a press release.
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She would replace Adm. Charles W. Ray in the position on June 18.
In a statement on Monday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called Fagan "a superb leader who, as the 32nd Vice Commandant, will guide the Coast Guard at a time when its mission of securing our maritime borders, ports, and waterways has never been more important."
The United States Coast Guard is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces, operating under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime.
Its command can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy at any time by the president or the Senate.
Fagan is currently commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area, which includes oversight of missions from the Rocky Mountains to Africa's eastern coast, the Coast Guard said in a statement on Monday.
A 1985 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, she is the only Coast Guard member to receive the Gold Ancient Trident award for long service in the field of Marine Safety.
"Vice Adm. Fagan is an outstanding leader with 36 years of Coast Guard operations, policy-making, joint service, and interagency experience," said Adm. Karl L. Schultz, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, in a statement on Monday.
"Throughout her distinguished career, she has been a top performer and a trailblazer," Schultz said.
