Captain Hans Govertsen

Captain Hans Govertsen assumed command of Sector / Air Station Corpus Christi in June 2021. He oversees all Coast Guard operations along the South Texas coast from the Colorado River to the Rio Grande at the U.S./Mexico border and offshore waters. The unit has 919 dedicated Active Duty, Reserve, Civilian and Auxiliary personnel assigned to three coastal patrol boats, two marine safety detachments, one aids to navigation construction tender, three boat stations, a naval engineering maintenance facility, three aids to navigation teams, and the air station. Previously, CAPT Govertsen served as the Eighth District Resources Branch Chief. The Eighth Coast Guard District, headquartered in New Orleans, LA covers all or part of 26 states throughout the Gulf Coast and heartland of America. Part of Department of Homeland Security, the men and women of the Eighth District are vital to protecting the 1,200 miles of coastline and 10,300 miles of inland navigable waterways located in their area of responsibility. Captain Govertsen graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1997 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Following graduation, his first assignment was as an Engineering Officer In Training and Damage Control Assistant aboard USCGC RUSH, based in Honolulu, HI. He was selected for Naval Flight Training, and received his Wings of Gold from NAS Pensacola in 2001. Captain Govertsen’s first aviation tour was at Group-Air Station Atlantic City, where he achieved the status as Aircraft Commander in the MH-65B and MH-65C. As one of the inaugural Rotary Wing Air Intercept (RWAI) pilots, he participated in the initial Coast Guard / Secret Service initiative to guard National Special Security Events (NSSE’s). In 2005, he was selected for the Aeronautical Engineering Officer program, and transferred to Air Station Borinquen, PR, where he completed the Aeronautical Engineering Officer syllabus while serving as the Assistant Aviation Engineering Officer. He supported D7 and JIATF South anti-migrant and counter-drug operations in the Caribbean Sea. Following the landfall of Tropical Storm Noel in the Dominican Republic, he guided a crew of six through flood recovery operations that resulted in 19 lives saved and assisting 7,100 people. In 2008, he transferred to Air Station New Orleans as the Aeronautical Engineering Officer. While there, he qualified as an Instructor Pilot/Flight Evaluator. He provided humanitarian response following Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the Haitian earthquake of 2010 and the Coast Guard’s recovery efforts following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig explosion and subsequent oil spill. In 2011, Captain Govertsen was selected to attend the Aeronautical Engineering Master’s Program at Purdue University with a focus in Aviation Structures. In 2013 he completed the Master’s Degree and was assigned as a member of the rotating military faculty in the Mechanical Engineering Section at the Coast Guard Academy. From 2013-2016, he taught cadets in Engineering, Math, Leadership and Principles of Aviation and established the first competitive Flight Team at the CGA. In 2016, Captain Govertsen was assigned as Executive Officer at Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, WA, supporting the logistics functions of USCGC ACTIVE, three boat stations and five patrol boats while executing the primary missions of the unit. During his tenure, the unit stood up the first-ever aviation ship-rider program with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to enforce international laws and treaties across the maritime boundary line with Canada. Captain Govertsen has been married to his wife, Michelle since 1999 and has been blessed with two wonderful children, Sonja and Kainoa. His military decorations include two Meritorious Service Medals, Air Medal, three Commendation Medals and two Achievement Medals.