Vice Adm. William “Dean” Lee will assume command of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Coast Guard Defense Force East during a Change of Command ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday, May 16 at Naval Station Norfolk.
Lee will relieve Vice Adm. Robert Parker who assumed command of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Coast Guard Defense Force East on April 30, 2010.
Parker will retire to Washington State after almost 36 years of service.
As Commander, Atlantic Area/Defense Force East, Lee will be the operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions within a geographic region that ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf and spans across five Coast Guard districts and 40 states.
Lee will be reporting from his recent assignment at Coast Guard Headquarters as the deputy for Operations Policy and Capabilities.
He has spent 13 years in six different command assignments, including the 5th District, Portsmouth and spent a career specializing in boat operations, and search and rescue. He has served along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, in addition to supporting operations overseas as the Deployable Operations Group commander. Lee’s other command operational assignments include: Sector North Carolina, Group Fort Macon, North Carolina, Group Monterey, California, and Station Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Lee is a native of Richmond and a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Officer Candidate School. Additionally, he holds a graduate degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Alabama.