Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard Thirteenth District

Date: July 9, 2009
Contact: Petty Officer Third Class Tara Molle
(206) 220-7237 

Northern Cambria, Pa., native retires from Coast Guard after 27 years of service

SEATTLE - Northern Cambria, Pa., native, Capt. Mark D’Andrea, the Chief of Response for the 13th Coast Guard District, retired June 30, 2009 after 27 years of service.

D'Andrea is a 1977 graduate of Northern Cambria High School. He attended Saint Francis College before transferring to the Coast Guard Academy from which he graduated in 1982. D'Andrea's first assignment was on the Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau, homeported in Alameda, Calif.

In 1983 he reported to Naval Flight Training where he earned a designation as a Coast Guard Aviator and was named to the Commodore's List of Distinguished Graduates. He subsequently served as an H-65 helicopter pilot and aviation maintenance officer. He helped to enforce U.S. laws and rescued numerous distressed mariners while serving at Coast Guard Air Stations in Miami, Kodiak, Alaska and Humboldt Bay, Calif. D'Andrea then earned a Master of Science degree in Industrial Administration from Purdue University. He served as a logistician, chief of the inventory management branch and as the interim chief of the supply division at the Coast Guard's Aircraft Repair and Supply Center in Elizabeth City, N.C.

D'Andrea was transferred back to Kodiak in 1999 where he served as the head of the aviation engineering department. His responsibilities included training the station's 300 crewmembers and maintaining C-130 Hercules cargo planes, HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and HH-65 Dolphin helicopters for missions throughout the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. From 2002 to 2004, he served as the executive officer for Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla. He guided business, administrative and operational activities that enabled the station's 600 person crew to perform Coast Guard missions throughout the eastern U.S., south Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

From 2004 to 2007, D'Andrea commanded Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Wash. Group/Air Station Port Angeles was responsible for carrying out the Coast Guard's search and rescue and law enforcement along the Washington coast and throughout Washington's Puget Sound.

His final assignment was at the Chief of Response Division for the 13th Coast Guard District headquartered in Seattle. He was responsible for all Coast Guard operations along the coasts and waterways of the Pacific Northwest. He supervised the Coast Guard's rescue of more than 300 people when hurricane force winds and flooding hit Washington and Oregon in December 2008. He ensured state, local and federal agencies teamed closely to meet the needs of the states of Washington and Oregon. The rescue was the largest Coast Guard rescue operation following Hurricane Katrina.

D'Andrea piloted the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and the C-130 Hercules cargo plane during his career. He is credited with numerous rescues and law enforcement actions. His personal military awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, Coast Guard Commendation and Achievement Medals, and the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation.

He is married to the former Alice Powell of Winter Haven, Fla. They have three children, Erika, married to Joshua Steffen with grandchildren Sierra and Marisa. Daughters Samantha and Savannah attend Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. He is the son of Marjorie M. and the late Joseph P. D'Andrea.

D'Andrea is now employed by The Boeing Company in Kent, Wash.

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