WASHINGTON – The Coast Guard marked a major milestone today with a new consolidated acquisition directorate. The directorate handling major systems and future equipment acquisitions, stood up today to become the second largest staff element at Coast Guard headquarters.

Rear Adm. Gary T. Blore, leads the new enterprise as assistant commandant for acquisition, managing an investment portfolio worth over a billion dollars of investment annually. The directorate’s programs include all platforms and mission systems designed to modernize and recapitalize the Coast Guard’s fleet of cutters, boats, aircraft and information technology assets. Under the new organization, these programs are consolidated from the legacy Coast Guard acquisitions directorate and the Integrated Deepwater System’s programs. The new directorate also brings together the office of procurement management; the office of research, development and technical management; the Research and Development Center; and the head of contracting.

“The motto of the acquisition directorate is, ‘Mission execution begins here.’” said Blore. “We conduct acquisition policy development, procurement services, contracts, program management, research and development – all of the elements that together provide the materiel solutions to meet the requirements of the operating force. For our organization, mission execution means delivering the systems, products and services –the capabilities– that provide the operating force with the best means to accomplish the Coast Guard’s missions in the nation’s service.”

In a ceremony at Fort McNair, Blore relieved Rear Adm. John P. Currier, who returns to the operating force as commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District at Seattle. The ceremony culminated an effort that began in 2006, when Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, directed the stand-up of the new acquisition directorate as one of 10 visionary transformation initiatives for the Coast Guard.

According to Vice Adm. Vivien S. Crea, vice commandant of the Coast Guard and presiding official at the ceremony, the event marked a major step toward fulfilling the commandant’s vision.

“From the beginning, the vision for modernizing the Coast Guard has been about the transformation of our operational capabilities, and the transformation of the way we support those capabilities,” said Crea. “At headquarters and in the acquisition community, we must never forget that the reason we do what we do is to enable the operating forces to execute their missions more effectively, more efficiently and more safely. We are responsible for delivering the products and services that will keep our Coast Guard strong today and for generations to come.”

Blore will lead a team that includes Claire Grady as the head of contracting; Michael Tangora as the director of acquisition services; and Rear Adm. Ronald J. Rábago as the program executive officer and director of acquisition programs.

For more information on Coast Guard leadership and to view their respective biographies, visit the Coast Guard website at www.uscg.mil and www.uscg.mil/acquisition.

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The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the
Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America.

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