Captain Josephine K. Heron assumed the duties of the Senior Reserve Officer of Fourteenth Coast Guard District in October 2021, where she is the senior Coast Guard Reserve Officer responsible for directing 113 Coast Guard reservists in support of maritime operations to ensure safety, security, law enforcement, and environmental protection throughout Oceania, including Hawai’i, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and activities in Singapore and Japan.
Captain Heron’s previous reserve assignments include: Future Planning Officer while deployed for OPERATIONS ALLIES WELCOME; Senior Reserve Officer at Sector San Diego; International Force Development Division Lead and J7 Exercise Planner at Coast Guard Reserve Unit Joint Staff South in Suffolk, Virginia; Response Department Head at Sector San Diego; Exercise Planner (J7) at U.S. Northern Command, where she worked on the ARDENT SENTRY, VIGILANT GUARD and ARCTIC EDGE presidential tier 1 exercise planning teams and stood up the Maritime Exercise branch; Coast Guard Liaison Officer and Exercise Planner at U.S. Southern Command where she planned and executed the TRADEWINDS exercise.
While on Active Duty, Captain Heron served as a vessel inspector in the Prevention Department at Sector Miami Beach, as an Officer Candidate School Instructor at the Leadership and Development Center in New London, Connecticut, and as an Engineering Officer of the Watch on the USCGC BOUTWELL in Alameda, CA.
Commissioned in 2000, Captain Heron earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. She earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island in 2005.
Her personal decorations includes the 2016 Coast Guard Captain John G. Witherspoon Inspirational Leadership Award, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2), the Coast Guard Commendation Medal (3), the Joint Service Achievement Medal (1), the Coast Guard Achievement Medal (3), The Coast Guard Marine Safety Insignia, along with various other team, unit, campaign, and service awards.
Captain Heron currently lives in Louisville, Colorado with her husband Matthew, a former Coast Guard Officer, and three daughters, Makayla (15), Brianna (13), and Amelia (10).