ALCOAST 191/26 - JUN 2026 ANNUAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AWARDS - 2025

R 251905Z JUN 26  MID120041336166U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 191/26
SSIC 16000
SUBJ: ANNUAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AWARDS - 2025
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 231331Z MAR 26/ALCOAST 077/26
1. I am pleased to announce the recipients of the Annual Emergency
Management Awards for 2025. The Emergency Management Awards
recognize operational units, sub-units, and individual members who
exemplify the highest standards of professionalism and initiative
in the field of emergency management.
    a. Thank you to all who dedicated time to highlight both unit and
individual achievements.
    b. To consider the impressive slate of units, sub-units, and
individual nominees, a panel convened and reviewed nominations based
on the following criteria:
        (1) Excellence in the area of emergency management, planning,
and preparedness;
        (2) Innovation in the field of emergency management that
demonstrates leadership and initiative;
        (3) Engagement with interagency and community stakeholders;
        (4) Exercise completion and Incident Management Team (IMT)
readiness for units; and,
        (5) Furthering the goals and objectives of the Coast Guard
Emergency Management Program.
2. Congratulations to the 2025 Emergency Management Operational
Unit of the Year: Sector New Orleans.
    a. Sector New Orleans coordinated responses to major real-world
contingencies, including activating 25 IMTs, most notably responding
to a terrorist incident in New Orleans, a 96-day response to a major
oil spill, two major marine casualties with a vessel/barge sinking
in the Mississippi River channel, security execution operations for
a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) 1 Super Bowl, Sugar Bowl,
and Mardi Gras, a week long severe weather response to unprecedented
snowfall, and a 57-day force protection operation in coordination
with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) partners, all while
preparing for Sail 250 events. The unit continued to execute program
exercises, completing 15 exercises and/or real-world event credit
events while maintaining 87% IMT readiness.
3. Congratulations to the 2025 Emergency Management Response of
the Year: Station (STA) Chicago.
    a. STA Chicago demonstrated an unwavering commitment to DHS
partners during Operation Midway Blitz. They successfully managed
complex physical security challenges as the facility and its
personnel became the focus of threats and localized civil
disturbances from 14 October to 12 November 2025. This prolonged
security event met criteria as a Type 3 Incident Command System
(ICS) response as it was formally supported by the Sector Lake
Michigan Incident Management Team (IMT).
4. Congratulations to the 2025 Emergency Manager of the Year:
LT Ramon Gil Dominguez, Sector New Orleans.
    a. LT Gil Dominguez served as the Planning Section Chief for a
series of complex responses, expertly guiding over 1,000 members
assigned to IMTs through five Type 1 and Type 2 events across 25
total IMTs. These high-stakes incidents included a 96-day response
to the Well #59 major oil spill, a threat on a passenger ferry,
year-long SEAR 1 preparations for Super Bowl LIX and Mardi Gras,
two major marine casualty collisions in the Mississippi River
channel, and Force Protection operations in response to DHS-led
initiatives. As the unit's ICS Coordinator, he leveraged every phase
of these responses as an opportunity to elevate the performance and
capability of all personnel involved.
5. Honorable Mentions. All units and members should be proud of their
continued efforts to support the emergency management and disaster
response mission. Although only one recipient for each category could
be selected, it is my honor to name:
    a. Sector Guam as Operational Unit of the Year runner-up for
their large-scale interagency effort uniting over 60 territorial and
aviation industry partners to validate regional Mass Rescue Response
Operations (MRO) during a separate Commonwealth of Northern Mariana
Islands (CNMI) aviation disaster exercise.
    b. Sector San Francisco for their outstanding IMT Readiness of
118%.
6. In addition to the extraordinary achievements noted by the
Annual Emergency Management Awards 2025 recipients, I applaud
the continued efforts of ALL emergency managers throughout the
Coast Guard. Stay safe in the field and we look forward
to reviewing next year's submissions. Semper Paratus!
7. POC: CDR Kaitlin Insley, COMDT (CG-OEM) at
Kaitlin.G.Insley@uscg.mil or (202) 372-2157.
8. M.M. Dean, RADM, Assistant Commandant for Operations Integration
and Response Policy (CG-3/5R), sends.
9. Internet release is authorized.