Coast Guard Academy superintendent to retire

Coast Guard Academy superintendent to retire

By Jennifer McDermott
Publication: TheDay.com

New London- The superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy was not among the three officers selected to remain in the service as a rear admiral and will retire July 1.

A board of senior officers met recently at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to consider the standing of six rear admirals, including Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe. Only three could continue in the Coast Guard.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr. announced the list of the officers who were chosen, which was approved by the secretary of homeland security, in a service-wide message Tuesday. Burhoe is retiring after more than three decades as an officer.

The board's deliberations are not public. But Burhoe's love for the academy and his reluctance to serve elsewhere may have hurt his chances.
Burhoe said he told the vice commandant, who is also the president of the board, many times that the superintendent's job was the only one he wanted in the Coast Guard.

"It's likely that if I was sitting on that board, I could see myself making the same decision they made for all the right reasons they made that decision," Burhoe said Thursday. "I don't see this as a bad thing or anything unexpected given how long I've been here and my interest in remaining here, and I'm really looking forward to what's next."

The Coast Guard limits the number of officers who can serve as rear admirals. Less than 1 percent of career officers are promoted to flag rank, which is rear admiral and higher.

Rear admirals appear before the selection board after serving at least four years but no more than five in that rank. Half of the candidates stay in the service. The other half retire.

The statutory cap on the number of Coast Guard rear admirals is 50. Few will be promoted to vice admiral. There is only one admiral, the commandant.

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Thanks for posting L59.

Adm. Burhoe was(is) a great super and will be missed.

I have fond memories of him from when my son was at the Academy. He made a strong effort to get out to sporting events and academic awards ceremonies. He was always friendly and approachable.

While I understand how the process works and the reasons for it, there nevertheless will be a void that will be tough to fill.

Fair winds and following seas sir.

Wow, our son has only just started at CGA, so I havent' really had an opportunity to get to know Admiral Burhoe or really see him in action; however, I'm still very sad to see him go.

On a side note, do all the military services restrict the number of officers at the higher levels? Does CG change the number at all, from year to year, based on the number of coasties out in the fleet, or for any other reasons? Please excuse my ignorance, but up until now, we have not been a military family. This is very interesting since our son always said he wanted to be in CG for life...but I guess the decision might not be his to make.

My 4/c son had the pleasure of speaking with Superintendent Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe for about 5-10 minutes at one the events. Son said he's an extremely nice, and personable person; I will be sad to see him leave.

I know in his next adventure, he'll do great things just like he's done for the USCGA and its cadets. -officer

That's too bad - my Cadet is 2012, and we were really hoping Rear Adm. Burhoe would still be there for his commencement/commissioning. But, best of luck to him on whatever lies ahead. From everything we've seen and heard, he seems to have done great things at the Academy and for the Corps of Cadets.

fairwinds said:

On a side note, do all the military services restrict the number of officers at the higher levels? Does CG change the number at all, from year to year, based on the number of coasties out in the fleet, or for any other reasons? Please excuse my ignorance, but up until now, we have not been a military family. This is very interesting since our son always said he wanted to be in CG for life...but I guess the decision might not be his to make.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately this occurs throughout the services. It's a matter of available billets and the needs of the service. At different times in our history there have been major reductions-in-force(RIFs) that shrink the officer and enlisted corps even smaller.

Adm. Burhoe has had a great run in the Coast Guard, making two-star admiral even though not an Academy grad himself. I am sure he will do well in retirement. By the way take note of this article about the most recently retired Vice Commandant, Dave Pekoske, another man I had the pleasure to meet when his son and mine were rowing mates on the crew team.

http://www.freshnews.com/news/33724...ke-joins-t-solutions-executive-vice-president

Many great opportunities for retired coasties.

Flag officer numbers are determined by Congress. Generally the CGA superintendent position is terminal. Every year some admirals are continued, promoted, or are not continued. To promote, you have to make room at the top for the new comers. I was able to work with Rear Adm. Burhoe's people once, and they, and he did a great job.