Coast Guard

20241008-N-FD648-1018 (MARION, NORTH CAROLINA) – Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Jeffery Novak, left, and Joint Task Force Civil Support Commander, U.S. Army Col. Tanya McGonegal, take a tour of the life support area that was established in coordination with Hurricane Helene support, Marion, North Carolina, Oct. 8, 2024. As part of our homeland defense mission, the Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command and in support of FEMA, JTF-CS deploys and provides a flexible, agile, adaptive, responsive, and professional Joint Force comprised of active and reserve component service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, providing defense support of civil authorities to save lives, mitigate human suffering, and prevent further injury. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan Walvoord)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and in support of North Carolina and the North Carolina National Guard, U.S. Army North (ARNORTH) has mobilized active-duty Title 10 troops to assist with Hurricane Helene response and recovery efforts.

Soldiers, equipment, and resources from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, and 20th Engineer Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps began movement from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, on Oct. 3 to affected areas in the vicinity of Asheville, North Carolina. The support package includes rotary wing air support and various engineering equipment used for emergency route clearance.

Active-duty soldiers will support the Dual Status Commander of North Carolina alongside partners from FEMA and other state and local agencies as needed. The JFLCC, through USNORTHCOM, is the primary Department of Defense organization coordinating defense support of civil authorities to assist federal partners in responding to natural or man-made disasters.

“ARNORTH is committed to providing critical support to North Carolina and our federal partners in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Our soldiers are assisting with response and recovery efforts, ensuring that communities receive the help they need during this challenging time,” said Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman, ARNORTH and Joint Force Land Component Command commanding general.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm late in the evening of Sept. 26, 2024. The storm caused severe flooding across the southern Appalachians, with strong wind gusts damaging property and downing trees and power lines from the Gulf Coast to the North Carolina mountains.

For additional information, or questions from news media contact the ARNORTH Public Affairs office at 210-247-8852 or [email protected] for photos and/or videos, visit our official website: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/24DoDHurricane.

SANTA RITA, Guam — Capt. Jessica Worst took command of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam from Capt. Robert Kistner in a change of command ceremony at the Naval Base Guam theater in Santa Rita, Guam, on Oct. 4, 2024.

Rear Adm. Sean Regan, U.S. Coast Guard 14th District commander, presided over the ceremony.

Hailing from Rochester, New York, Capt. Kistner graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a degree in operations research, later supplemented by two master’s degrees from the University of Maryland. He took command of Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam in May 2024 as interim sector commander until Capt. Worst could arrive. He came to Guam after a successful two-year tour as chief of prevention for the 14th District, managing maritime safety and security operations across 12.2 million square miles in the Pacific, involving 21 maritime nations and over half of global shipping traffic. Prior to that, he served as deputy sector commander for Sector Eastern Great Lakes. He leaves Guam to rejoin his family in New York and enjoy retirement after more than two decades of service to his teammates and the nation.

Under his leadership, Guam-based members responded to 162 search and rescue operations, saving and assisting 246 lives and nearly $30 million in property throughout Micronesia. In a display of regional unity and maritime prowess, the U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia team hosted the inaugural Operation Irensia in June. This landmark event was a testament to the unity and cooperation among Pacific Island nations and allied forces. It also coincided with World Oceans Week. The culmination of two years of meticulous planning and coordination, the operation brought together crews from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Australia in a shared commitment to preserving the security and prosperity of the Pacific region.

Under Operations Rematau and Blue Pacific, the Fast Response Cutters completed multiple patrols, significantly bolstering regional cooperation. USCGC Oliver Henry’s actions highlighted the Service’s strategic role in promoting maritime governance and good order in the Pacific while also ensuring readiness for search and rescue operations, such as the response to a distress call from the motor yacht Black Pearl 1, towing the vessel and its 11-person crew over 200 miles to Palau. They also led the Lina’la Halom Tasi Exercise 2024, the first full-scale pollution response exercise in the CNMI, bringing together local and federal agencies to respond to a simulated oil spill, testing regional preparedness and enhancing collaboration.

In September, at the Republic of Palau’s request and in response to their concerns of potential illicit maritime activity, Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam personnel, alongside a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew and embarked Palauan enforcement officials, patrolled over 6,000 miles sighting vessels in and around Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Exercising provisions of the U.S.–Palau bilateral agreement, technologies, and maritime domain awareness tools, they ensured the sovereignty of Palau’s waters and domestic fishing zones.

Capt. Jessica Worst joins the Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam team after serving as the Current Operations Division chief at U.S. Northern Command. She led a diverse joint force of 85 personnel focused on homeland defense, civil support, and security cooperation to deter, detect, deny, and defeat a full spectrum of threats to the United States.

Before this, she was the executive officer of USCGC Healy (WAGB 20), the nation’s largest icebreaker, which notably circumnavigated North America in 2021. Preceding this, she was a federal executive fellow at the Brookings Institution, honing her strategic acumen. Staff assignments include crafting significant portions of the Service’s annual budget request as a program reviewer and budget coordinator in the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Office of Budget and Programs. Her operational experience is extensive, with time on multiple cutters, including in Oceania as commanding officer of USCGC Sequoia (WLB 215) in Guam.

A native of Ledyard, Connecticut, she graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in marine and environmental science. She then attended the University of Rhode Island, earning a master’s degree in oceanography in 2011.

Her dedication to service is reflected in earning the Defense Superior Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (2), Coast Guard Commendation Medal (5), Coast Guard Achievement Medal (2), and unit and team awards. She earned her Permanent Cutterman’s Insignia in 2008. She anchors her personal life in family, sharing her journey with her husband, Aaron Parker.

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About U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam:

U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam is critical in promoting Pacific maritime safety, security, and environmental stewardship. With a primary presence in Guam and Saipan and over 300 members across Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the team maintains a strong U.S. presence in the Micronesia sub-region and adjacent areas, closely tied to local communities. Their capabilities are integral to executing a wide range of U.S. Coast Guard missions, from protecting the maritime economy and the environment to defending maritime borders and saving those in peril.