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Aviation Training Center, Mobile
Commanding Officer
Captain Steven C. Truhlar
Captain
Steve Truhlar was born in Phoenix, Arizona, grew up in Auburndale, Wisconsin,
and graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1986.
His first assignment was as a Deck Watch Officer and Operations Officer onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) MESQUITE (WLB-305), a 180-foot buoy tender out of Charlevoix, MI. In 1988, he served as Commanding Officer of USCGC POINT SPENCER (WPB-82349), a patrol boat home-ported in Galveston, Texas. The cutter and crew was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for taking part in a record cocaine seizure, prosecuting numerous significant commercial fishing violations, and serving as on scene coordinator as the Coast Guard averted a potentially major oil spill from the burning tanker MEGA BORG.
He was then assigned to the Naval Air Training Command in Pensacola for basic fixed and rotary wing training in squadrons VT-2 and HT-8. He received his wings of gold in February 1992. Following flight school, he was assigned to Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Miami, the busiest air-sea rescue unit in the world, where he participated in Hurricane Andrew rescue and recovery operations, over 130 SAR cases, and 24 deployments to the Caribbean. He also served as the Training Department Head.
In 1997, he reported to the HH65 Training and Standardization Branch at the Aviation Training Center (ATC) in Mobile, AL. As an instructor pilot, he took part in the H65 Night Vision Goggle and checklist implementations. He was ATC’s HH65 “B” model upgrade project officer, shepherding the design, implementation, and training of an extensive avionics replacement. In 2001, he served as the Coast Guard’s HH65 Training and Standardization Branch Chief.
In 2002, he served as the Operations Officer at CGAS Traverse City, MI, responsible for overseeing SAR, homeland security, and ice patrol missions in a vast region characterized by weather extremes, to include the greater Chicago area. While there, the unit twice garnered the prestigious Aviation Standardization Excellence Award.
In 2005, he reported to Navy Training Squadron TWO as the Executive Officer and then took command in May 2006. For 2006, “VT-2” earned an unprecedented three major awards for safety, production, and training excellence, including the CNO Safety Award and the coveted VADM Goldthwaite Award, bestowed upon the best training squadron in the Navy. VT-2 was also awarded the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Captain Truhlar is reporting from the U.S. Army War College, where he received a Masters degree in Strategic Studies. He previously earned an off-duty Masters degree in Homeland Security in 2005, graduating with honors from American Military University. He has accumulated 4,500 flight hours.
CAPT Truhlar’s awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal (2), the Coast Guard Achievement Medal, the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation (3), and numerous operational and unit awards. He and his lovely wife, Rachel, have three active boys (Steven-12, Samuel-9, and Sterling-7) and an equally active daughter (Candace-4).