Rear Adm. Tiffany Danko currently serves as the Assistant Commandant for Reserve (CG-R) as well as the Director of the Coast Guard Reserve.
CG-R is responsible for the preparation, justification, and execution of the budget for the Coast Guard Reserve and is the director and functional manager of budget authority of the Reserve Component. CG-R develops, issues, and maintains activation and deactivation policy in alignment with statutes, Department of Defense (DOD) policy, and specific Coast Guard authorities; monitors the statutory authorities utilized to activate and deploy reservists and engages the legislative change process when authorities are insufficient to meet expected contingency needs; and manages Reserve capabilities to quantify and allocate Reserve resources toward meeting contingency response requirements. CG-R is also the primary representative of the Coast Guard Reserve to the DOD Reserve Forces Policy Board (RFPB) and provides the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Report (NGRER) to the DOD.
As the Director of Reserve, Rear Adm. Danko functions as the primary advisor for the Reserve to the Commandant and the functional manager of appropriated Reserve Training funds. The Coast Guard Reserve’s unique, integrated structure allows reservists to train alongside their active-duty counterparts to obtain needed skillsets for both steady state and contingency operations.
Rear Adm. Danko’s previous positions include the Senior Reserve Officer to the U.S. Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Mission Support; Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Reserve Unit U.S. Transportation Command; Senior Coast Guard Liaison Officer with U.S. Navy Coastal Riverine Group One; the Reserve Chief of Staff for the Eighth Coast Guard District; and the Coast Guard Reserve Senior Reserve Officer for U.S. Central Command. Additionally, she served as the Commanding Officer of Port Security Unit (PSU) 312 in San Francisco, California; and during her tour she was deployed to Cuba from 2014 to 2015 in command of PSU 312 as the Maritime Security Detachment Commander for Joint Task Force Guantanamo in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Rear Adm. Danko’s career has encompassed numerous operational tours. She began her career as a plank owner on the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper (WLB-201), with tours CONUS and OCONUS including SWO aboard USS O’Brien (DD-975) in Yokosuka, Japan; the U.S. Coast Guard Intelligence Coordination Center in Washington, D.C.; Harbor Defense Command 110 in San Diego, California; and at U.S. Coast Guard Activities Far East in Yokota, Japan. She served on the staff of U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Florida, as well as the Senior Reserve Officer for U.S. Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, Florida. Rear Adm. Danko is also an Adjunct Professor with the University of Southern California Bovard College.
Rear Adm. Danko holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University, is a 2015 Joint Forces Staff College Joint Combined Warfighting School graduate, and a 2013 U.S. Naval War College Command and Staff Program graduate. She earned a Master of Arts Degree from San Diego State University and is a 1995 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Her personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Coast Guard and Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and other personal and unit awards.