Rear Adm. Joanna Hiigel currently serves as the TRIDENT FORGE Task Force Director at Coast Guard Headquarters as well as the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support Senior Reserve Officer. She recently served as Operation Vigilant Sentry Incident Commander in Miami, Florida and as the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area Senior Reserve Officer, leading 1,500 Reserve personnel.
Rear Adm. Hiigel graduated from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy in 1995 and reported to Coast Guard Cutter Active where she served as Officer of the Deck, Boarding Officer, Weapons Officer, and First Lieutenant.
In 1997, Rear Admiral Hiigel reported to Tactical Law Enforcement Team Gulf where she served as the Officer-In-Charge of Law Enforcement Detachment 8B, deploying with United States and Dutch naval vessels with a follow-on tour at Group Seattle as the Assistant Operations Officer.
In 2000, Rear Adm. Hiigel transitioned into the Coast Guard Reserve and served at Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Washington; Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico; and Coast Guard Sector Mobile, Alabama. In 2009, Rear Adm.Hiigel transferred to Alameda, California, where she completed active-duty orders in support of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and the commissioning of Coast Guard Cutter Stratton with a follow-on tour at Sector Columbia River as the Senior Reserve Officer.
In 2015, Rear Adm. Hiigel transferred to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii where she supported the annual BAKAMLA joint exercise in Indonesia, served as liaison to an Australian government official during a bilateral exercise and completed active-duty Incident Commander duties in support of Coast Guard Sector New York dielectric oil spill and Incident Management for the Seventh Coast Guard District following the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
From 2017-2019, Rear Adm. Hiigel served as the Thirteenth Coast Guard District Reserve Chief of Staff, leading 350 Pacific Northwest Reserve personnel. She deployed in support of Hurricane Lane, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. Southern Command exercises, as well as Western Pacific missions in the Philippines.
In 2019-2021, Rear Adm. Hiigel led Coast Guard Reserve Unit U.S. Transportation Command as the Commanding Officer. While there, she deployed in support of global COVID-19 response operations as well as Operation Allies Welcome.
Rear Adm. Hiigel earned a Master of Arts degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University, Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy and is a graduate from Naval War College with Joint Professional Military Education. She earned Type 1 Incident Commander, Liaison Officer, and Type 3 Planning Section Chief Incident Management qualifications. Military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Coast Guard Commendation Medal (three awards), Coast Guard Achievement Medal (five awards), and Coast Guard Expert Pistol Medal. She has been married for 29 years to U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Mark Hiigel and has three children- two newly commissioned Coast Guard ensigns and a high school swimmer.