R.G. Edmonson | Dec 22, 2009 4:32PM EST
Vice Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr. will be the new commandant of the Coast Guard, President Obama announced on Tuesday.
Papp will relieve Adm. Thad Allen in May 2010, pending Senate confirmation.
Papp is commander of the Atlantic area, one of the service’s major divisions, which includes Coast Guard operations in the Persian Gulf.
Previously Papp was chief of staff at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington. From 2004 to 2006 he commanded the Coast Guard Ninth District, which covers the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.
Papp is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and a master’s degree in management from Salve Regina College in Newport, R.I.
