Captain Kirsten Trego serves as the Senior Reserve Officer for the First Coast Guard District, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. In this capacity, she serves as an advisor to the District Commander on the operational and mobilization readiness of more than 800 Coast Guard Reservists across 8 states from Maine to New Jersey.
Prior to reporting to D1, CAPT Trego served on active duty as Deputy Director, Emergency Management at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, where she was responsible for establishing, developing, and implementing policies, strategies, and goals to meet Coast Guard’s Incident Response Mission. During this tour, CAPT Trego had the honor to stand up and lead the Coast Guard’s Coronavirus-19 Crisis Action Team, rapidly developing national level policies for Coast Guard operations during the global pandemic.
Her previous assignments include a mix of active duty and reserve positions, including assignments as the Senior Reserve Officer at Sector Delaware Bay, Arctic Strategy Implementation Lead at Coast Guard Headquarters, Senior Reserve Officer at the Atlantic Strike Team, Supervisor of Marine Safety Detachment Coram, and Chief of Waterways and Waterfront Facilities at Marine Safety Office/Group Philadelphia. She also served as a Deputy Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster overseeing response efforts across the Gulf of Mexico.
Captain Trego is qualified as a permanent Marine Safety Professional. She is the recipient of the Legion of Merit, Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, two Coast Guard Commendation Medals, a Coast Guard Achievement Medal and several other personal and unit awards.
A native of Arlington, VA, Captain Trego graduated from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marine Affairs in 1993. She also holds a Master of Marine Policy degree from the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. She earned her commission in 1997 from Officer Candidate School in Yorktown, Virginia.
In her civilian career, Captain Trego currently serves as the Deputy, Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy at Coast Guard Headquarters.