Tom Paar, Chief of Staff, USCIS

Having served over 30 years in the United States Coast Guard, Mr. Paar retired from the Coast Guard on July 1, 2002. On July 28, 2002, he assumed the duties as Staff Officer to Admiral Loy then the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security; and on March 1, 2003, moved with him when he became the first Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which relocated from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security. He served Admiral Loy in this capacity upon his assumption of duties as the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security in November 2003, and similarly served Deputy Secretary Jackson beginning in March 2005.   He assumed his current duties on August 31, 2005. 

Mr. Paar's Coast Guard service included over eight years aboard Coast Guard Cutters whose missions involved domestic ice breaking, search and rescue, fisheries and drug law enforcement, and migrant activity. In 1992 while commanding CGC THETIS, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter in the Caribbean, he was responsible for directing the efforts of CTU 44.7.4, a task group of 7 aircraft and 16 cutters patrolling off the coast of Haiti. Mr. Paar also served as Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Group Miami and Base Miami Beach overseeing 18 units and over 500 personnel performing Coast Guard search and rescue and law enforcement operations throughout Southeast Florida.

Mr. Paar's staff assignments included tours in military recruiting, administration and personnel. He served as Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Personnel Command overseeing the well-being of the Coast Guard's 40,000+ military and civilian personnel; Assistant Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy managing the Cadet Program and the Coast Guard's Leadership Development Center; and concluding his career as Chief of Staff of Coast Guard Atlantic Area responsible for all of the Coast Guard's operational forces located East of the Rocky Mountains (Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, East Coast, and Caribbean).

Mr. Paar graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1972, and holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Marymount University in Arlington, V A. His military commendations included two Legions of Merit.

Mr. Paar is married to the former Margaret Elbert of Richmond, VA. They are the proud parents of one daughter, Jessica.