The Coast Guard Foundation is set to honor the retired admiral who oversaw search-and-rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was the incident commander after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
Retired Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard from 2006-10 and former Seventh District commander, will be honored Nov. 13 at the Marriott Biscayne Bay in Miami during the foundation’s annual tribute to the Seventh District.
The event will be emceed by Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist III, chairman and CEO of Active Interest Media, which owns Soundings.
The foundation also will honor an aircrew from the Seventh District for lifesaving actions that resulted in the rescue of more than 100 Haitian nationals who were shipwrecked off the Bahamas.
The CG-6027 crew that will receive recognition are Lt. Cmdr. Samuel H. Babbit, aircraft commander; Lt. Jonathan E. Ralson, co-pilot; Petty Officer David J. McPeters, flight mechanic; and Petty Officer Christopher P. Ensley, rescue swimmer. The emcee will be foundation trustee Michael Moore.
“The task of safeguarding one of the busiest coastal regions in the United States falls to the men and women of the United States Coast Guard’s Seventh District,” foundation president Anne Brengle said in a statement.
“This group of exceptional individuals take to the sea with all its unpredictability, rescue the helpless in the most difficult conditions and see ships safely to port. They are our first line of defense in the face of everything from storms to oil spills, drug smugglers and poachers. It is our honor to pay tribute to their bravery and professionalism.”
The Seventh District encompasses the southeast United States and the Caribbean basin, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
