PORT ANGELES — Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles welcomed a new commander Friday at a ceremony on the installation at the end of Ediz Hook that included music from the Navy Band Northwest.
Following remarks by Rear Admiral Charles E. Fosse, Coast Guard District 13 Commander, the role officially was handed over to Cmdr. Kelly Higgins, who comes to Port Angeles from Air Station San Francisco and Forward Operating Base Point Mugu, Calif., where she served as executive officer and operations officer.
It is also a return trip for her — she previously served an operational flying tour in Port Angeles after completing her Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, Fla., a Coast Guard press release said.
Outgoing Capt. Brent Schmadeke had been commander of the station since assuming the role in 2022. The position was his third time assigned to Port Angeles, having previously been assigned in 2005 as an aircraft commander and again in 2016 as operations officer.
Schmadeke is next set to become chief of the Office of Auxillary and Boating Safety based in Washington, D.C. He will be primarily working remotely and staying in Sequim with his wife, Kate, and children Alexandria and Ezekiel.
It also marks a return to the Pacific Northwest for Higgins, a Portland, Ore., native. She is joined by her husband, Greg, and two children, Izzy and Jack.
Higgins holds the highest qualification in the Coast Guard as a flight examiner and instructor pilot, along with a bachelor of science degree in Management from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Master of Public Administration degree from George Washington University, a press release said.
Her awards include the National Naval Officer’s Association Capt. Edward R. Williams Award for Leadership and Diversity, the Pacific Northwest Coast Guard Foundation Award for Heroism, a Meritorious Service Medal, a Coast Guard Commendation Medal and Coast Guard Achievement Medal.
Higgins is the second woman to lead the Port Angeles station. Cmdr. Joan Snaith, who served as commander from 2020-2022, was the first.
As commander of Air Station Port Angeles, Higgins joins the Coast Guard air response for Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Washington coastline, a press release said.
The station also works with National Park Service rangers and local law enforcement for search and rescue missions, as well as other Coast Guard segments in the area.
“The Air Station operationally partners with and provides logistical support for other Coast Guard units on the Olympic Peninsula including Boat Stations Neah Bay, Port Angeles and Quillayute River,” a press release said. “As well as Coast Guard Cutters Active, Adelie, Swordfish, Osprey and Blue Shark.”
