Rear Adm David W Kunkel Is Where The Action Is As Head Of Evolving Post911 Coast Guard Mission

A military, multimission maritime service, one of the nation’s five armed services, the US Coast Guard has as its mission to protect the public, the environment and US economic interests — in the nation’s ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters or in any maritime region as required to support national security.

Never has this been more in evidence than since the 9/l1 terrorist attack on the US, and nowhere more busily pursued than in the Coast Guard’s Miami-based District 7, the biggest of the nine in the nation.

Commanding the district, which stretches from South Carolina south through Florida to the Caribbean islands, is someone who rose from enlisted man to flag officer — a rare feat in the service — Rear Adm. David W. Kunkel.

Rear Adm. Kunkel, 57, who took up his challenging post on April 25, spoke of the extensive activities of the district under his wing in an interview at his offices in the Brickell corridor with Miami Today international editor Michael Hayes. This is an excerpt from the weekly profile article published in Miami Today. To read the entire article in full, order this issue or subscribe to the print edition of Miami Today. Advertisement