Rear
Admiral Paul F. Zukunft
Commander, District
Eleven
U.S. Coast Guard
As Eleventh District Commander, Rear Admiral Zukunft is responsible for all Coast Guard missions in the 3.3 million square miles of coastal and offshore waters extending 1000 nautical miles off of California, south to the Colombian and Ecuadorian border in South America. Prior to reporting to his present command, RADM Zukunft was the Director, Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) West after serving as Chief of Staff of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District in Honolulu. Rear Admiral Zukunft graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Government; from Webster University in 1988 with a Master of Arts degree in Management; and from the United States Naval War College in 1997 with a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Studies and International Affairs.
Rear Admiral Zukunft has served extensively in the cutter fleet and commanded three cutters while patrolling throughout the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He commanded the USCGC CAPE UPRIGHT where he confiscated over 40 tons of marijuana and rescued over 1000 Cuban migrants in the Straits of Florida during the Mariel boatlift; served as Executive Officer of USCGC BEAR where he supervised the interdiction of more than 800 Haitian migrants and 10 tons of cocaine; commanded USCGC HARRIET LANE where he interdicted more than 3000 Haitian, Cuban, Dominican Republic and Chinese migrants and 3 tons of marijuana; and commanded USCGC RUSH where he deployed to China, the Bering Sea, and the Eastern Pacific to forge international search and rescue agreements, protect living marine resources in the Bering Sea and confiscate over 5 tons of cocaine while interdicting a mother ship off the coast of Central America.
Rear Admiral Zukunft's shore assignments include Operations Officer, Vessel Traffic Service New Orleans; Chief of Port Operations, Marine Safety Office Corpus Christi where he supervised a $100M Superfund clean-up; and Commanding Officer of the Training Quota Management Center where he supervised the execution of advanced training programs for all officer and enlisted personnel.
His staff assignments include Chief of Operations Oversight at Coast Guard Atlantic Area where he promulgated the Coast Guard's STEEL WEB counter drug strategy culminating in the interdiction of more than 130 tons of cocaine while directly supervising the operations of 29 medium and high endurance cutters. He also served as Chief of Operations, Coast Guard Pacific Area and directed the interdiction of more than 110 tons of cocaine in 2005 while supervising a fleet of 18 cutters. In addition, he served as Chief of Operations at the Fourteenth Coast Guard District where implemented a multiagency maritime security regime in the wake of 9/11 and coordinated the deployment of Coast Guard personnel and cutters in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.
Rear Admiral Zukunft is a native of North Branford, Connecticut. He wears the permanent Coast Guard Cutterman pin and his personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with "O" device (five awards), Coast Guard Commendation Medal (two awards) and Coast Guard Achievement medal with "O" device (two awards).