Originally published Mark Kuperman Named Chief of Staff for U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District on by https://www.hstoday.us/industry/people-on-the-move/mark-kuperman-named-chief-of-staff-for-u-s-coast-guard-ninth-district/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mark-kuperman-named-chief-of-staff-for-u-s-coast-guard-ninth-district at Homeland Security
Captain Mark I. Kuperman has announced his appointment as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Ninth District. He shared the news on LinkedIn and brings to the position an extensive career in operational leadership, interagency coordination, and maritime safety and security, both domestically and abroad.
Kuperman, who is also a contributing author to HSToday, most recently served as Commander of Coast Guard Sector Eastern Great Lakes. In that role, he was responsible for a vast and complex area of responsibility that spanned three states, nearly 600 miles of U.S. shoreline, and a significant stretch of the U.S.-Canada maritime border. His leadership encompassed oversight of 14 subunits, more than 1,000 personnel, and a workload that included nearly 1,000 search and rescue cases annually, making it one of the most active search and rescue sectors in the entire Coast Guard.
In addition to leading search and rescue, Captain Kuperman’s sector supported more than $35 billion in annual commercial shipping activity and handled nearly 3,000 vessel boardings each year. He also served in multiple roles designated by federal law, including Captain of the Port, Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection, and Federal On-Scene Coordinator.
Before his most recent command, Kuperman served as Commander of the USCG Sector Buffalo and before that Deputy Chief of Operations for the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area, where he had operational responsibility for Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSSTs), Port Security Units, Dive Lockers, and explosive detection K9 units — overseeing approximately 1,700 active duty and reserve personnel. Earlier assignments included Deputy Commander for Sector Anchorage, where he helped lead the Coast Guard’s largest and most remote area of responsibility, covering Western Alaska and the Arctic. While there, he played a key role in the establishment of the Marine Safety Task Force under Operation Arctic Shield.
Kuperman’s career has consistently bridged operations and policy. He served as the Coast Guard Program Manager for the Maritime Force Protection Program — the service’s largest reimbursable program — and was instrumental in advancing the Coast Guard’s first Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) legislative efforts.
His operational roots include early assignments as an enlisted Airman at Air Station Atlantic City and later as a boat crew member at Station New Haven, CT. He became one of the first deployable team leaders for MSST 91101 (Seattle) and has led teams supporting both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Captain Kuperman holds degrees from Binghamton University (B.A.), Trident University (M.S. in Health Sciences), and Johns Hopkins University (M.A. in Global Strategic Studies). His personal awards include multiple Meritorious Service Medals, Coast Guard Commendation and Achievement Medals, and a Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal. He is also a team recipient of two CDR Joel Magnusson Awards for USCG Innovation.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)
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Originally published Mark Kuperman Named Chief of Staff for U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District on by https://www.hstoday.us/industry/people-on-the-move/mark-kuperman-named-chief-of-staff-for-u-s-coast-guard-ninth-district/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mark-kuperman-named-chief-of-staff-for-u-s-coast-guard-ninth-district at Homeland Security
Originally published Homeland Security
