Eighth CG District Command Transferred To Nadeau

The Eighth Coast Guard District is under new command following a change of command ceremony held at the Port of New Orleans’ Julia Street Cruise Terminal July 23. Rear Adm. Paul Thomas, who has served as commander of the district for the past two years, transferred command to Rear Adm. John Nadeau, formerly assistant commandant for prevention policy.

The change of command ceremony featured remarks from Vice Adm. Scott Buschman, commander of the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area, and both Thomas and Nadeau. Buschman also presented Thomas with an award recognizing his leadership in the Eighth District.

Buschman first highlighted the significance of the United States’ waterways and the role of maritime commerce in the nation’s economy.

“Our maritime transportation really is the lifeblood of our economy,” Buschman said. “It connects our nation’s heartland with ports, and global maritime commerce contributes $5.4 trillion to our annual economy. 30 million jobs and 90 percent of our trade is tied to our ports and waterways.”

Nowhere is that more evident than in District Eight, arguably the Coast Guard’s most complex district, which Buschman described as having “everything from rivers to rigs.” The inland river system of the Eighth District includes the bulk of the nation’s inland waterways, including the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee rivers.

“It supplies the heartland with everyday products and provides a highway to connect our inland crops and goods to the rest of the world,” Buschman said.

The Eighth District’s coastal region includes some of the nation’s busiest ports and receives more than 27,000 deep-draft vessels annually and more than 90,000 towing vessel transits per year. And then there’s the offshore region, which includes more than 6,500 oil and gas wells and more than 3,500 miles of pipelines.

“District Eight is always extremely busy, but I have to tell you, over the past two years that Adm. Thomas has been here, it has been extraordinarily busy,” Buschman said. “Admiral Thomas has led this extraordinarily busy, extraordinarily complicated district exceptionally, and he’s led it through some hard times and historic events.”

Shortly after Thomas arrived in August 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, first with destructive winds and then with devastating rains.

“It dumped up to 60 inches of rain—think about that,” Buschman said.

Throughout the emergency response, Coast Guard responders, under Thomas’ leadership, rescued more than 11,000 residents, particularly in the Houston area.

That same year, Hurricane Nate made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River and near Biloxi, Miss., and in 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall as a Category 5 storm near Mexico Beach, Fla.

Besides hurricanes, communities within District Eight have battled historic high water on the Mississippi River and its tributaries over the past year. Buschman also mentioned the explosion, fire and spill at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) facility in Houston this past spring.

“These are just a few examples of the large and complicated things that happened during Adm. Thomas’ tour,” Buschman said. “They’re among more than 13,000 responses over the past two years, including more than 3,000 search and rescue cases.”

All those operational successes, Busch-man said, are made possible, not because of any one individual, but because District Eight is a team of more than 3,700 active duty members, more than 700 reservists, 317 civilians and just over 5,000 members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. And many times, those Coast Guardsmen are impacted by the same events to which they respond.

“We’re not just responders,” Buschman said. “We’re survivors of these events.”

Speaking to the crowd gathered for the change of command, Thomas emphasized that the ceremony was not about him or about Nadeau.

“Today really is about that team, which includes all of you in this room,” Thomas said. “Our community, our stakeholders and partners, and of course, the amazing crew of the Eighth Coast Guard District spread across 26 states.”

Thomas described the people who make up the Eighth Coast Guard District as “our secret sauce.”

“Every single day, this team gets it done in this dynamic, challenging, busy and exciting area of operations,” Thomas said.

Thomas also praised industry and community partners who live and work within the Eighth District.

“We also have an industry here and industry stakeholders who understand their role in providing governance of the marine transportation system and who lead in ensuring the safety, security, environmental stewardship and productivity of our ports and waterways, so that our nation can reap all the benefits that come from maritime commerce,” Thomas said.

Thomas also recognized his wife, Dr. Mary Thomas, and his son, Erik, for their love and support, and by extension, he thanked all the families of Coast Guard members. He also wished Nadeau all the best as he and his family settle in to New Orleans.

“You will grow to love this town, and you will absolutely love this team,” Thomas said. “You’ll be amazed by our partners and our stakeholders, and you’ll be absolutely awed by all they accomplish.”

Thomas then read his orders, which are to report to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he will serve as deputy commandant for mission support, overseeing personnel readiness.

In assuming command of District Eight, Nadeau said he’s excited to join the “team of all-stars” at the district.

“I’ve witnessed and admired the resiliency and tenacity of the people that live and work along the Gulf Coast, and I’m excited and proud to join you all,” Nadeau said.

Nadeau said his command philosophy is simple: “We play to our strengths.” Those strengths include exercising servant leadership, cultivating expertise and investing in and nurturing partnerships.

“I am humbled, deeply honored and excited to be provided this opportunity to join this incredible team, this incredible community, and I will strive to uphold the outstanding reputation and long record of achievements earned by the Eighth Coast Guard District and its partners,” Nadeau said. “May God bless the United States Coast Guard, the greatest coast guard on the planet, and God bless America.”