Media Availability: Coast Guard 5th District change of command ceremony to take place in Portsmouth, Virginia

Media Availability

U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic Contact: 5th District Public Affairs Office: (757) 398-6272 After Hours: (757) 295-8435 5th District online newsroom

Coast Guard 5th District change of command ceremony to take place in Portsmouth, Virginia

Who: Rear Adm. Keith Smith and Rear Adm. Laura Dickey
What: Official change of command ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Fifth District
Where: Coast Guard Base Portsmouth, 4000 Coast Guard Blvd, Portsmouth, VA 23703
When: Friday, Sept. 25th, 2020 at 11 a.m.

Media interested in attending are required RSVP by 4 p.m. on Sept. 23rd by calling 757-295-8435. All media attendees must wear a mask at all times.

NORFOLK, Va. — Coast Guard Rear Adm. Laura Dickey is scheduled to relieve Rear Adm. Keith Smith as District Commander, Coast Guard Fifth District, during a change-of-command ceremony at Coast Guard Base Portsmouth, Friday at 10 a.m.

The ceremony will be presided over by Vice Adm. Steven D. Poulin, Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area.

As commander of the 5th District, Dickey will serve as the operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions from the North Carolina/South Carolina border to New Jersey, encompassing nearly 5,600 Coast Guard active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel and spanning 1.4 million square miles of oceans, bays, and rivers. The Fifth District also includes several mid-Atlantic ports, the largest U.S. Naval base in the world, and our National Capital Region.

Prior to assuming command of the Fifth District, Dickey most recently served as the Deputy Director of Operations for United States Northern Command. The Director of Operations is the principal advisor to Commander, USNORTHCOM on all operational matters, providing strategic guidance to plan and execute missions within North America; including land, maritime, and air homeland defense operations as well as defense support of civil authorities and theater security cooperation.

Smith served as the Fifth District Commander since 2018 and oversaw Coast Guard response operations throughout the region, including response efforts for hurricanes Florence and Dorian. Smith will go on to assume the role of Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, based out of Portsmouth, Virginia.

-USCG-