Captain
Douglas Kaup
Chief of Planning and Force Readiness,
District Eleven U.S. Coast Guard
Captain Kaup is a native of Holyoke, CO, where he grew up working his parents’ wheat and dairy farm. He graduated from Colorado State University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science Degree majoring in Industrial Construction Management. After commissioned service in the U. S. Army for 5 years as an Army Aviator, he was selected as a Coast Guard Direct Commission Aviator in 1986. Captain Kaup served his first tour as an operational Coast Guard aviator flying the HH-52A at Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay, CA. He was designated an Aeronautical Engineer and served as the HH-65A Assistant Engineering Officer at Aviation Training Center Mobile, AL, followed by a tour as the Alaska Patrol (ALPAT) Division Aeronautical Engineering Officer at Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, AK. Captain Kaup then returned to Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay serving as the Aeronautical Engineering Officer and unit Instructor Pilot. In 1998 he earned a Masters of Science Degree in Industrial Administration from the Krannert School of Business at Purdue University. Following graduate studies, he served as the Avionics Support Branch Chief at the Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center, Elizabeth City, NC. In that capacity he provided aviation engineering support for 25 air stations and 200 aircraft while supervising the technical data programs for all avionics systems valued at $590 million. Captain Kaup returned to the West coast and served as the Aeronautical Engineering Officer of Group/Air Station North Bend, OR. He then completed a tour as the Executive Officer of Coast Guard Air Station Houston, TX. He completed a tour as the Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco in July 2006, and has served as the Incident Management Branch Chief for the Eleventh Coast Guard District since that time. Captain Kaup holds pilot designations in the TH-55A, UH-1H, UH-60A, HH-52A, HH-60J, HH-65B and HH-65C helicopters.
His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (2), Air Medal (2), Coast Guard Commendation Medal (2), as well as various unit and service decorations. He was recognized with the U. S. Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Award in 2001 for his heroic rescue of a stranded fisherman off the Oregon coast.