ADM Allen to stay on as NIC
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Written by: Christopher Lagan
There has been a lot of speculation over the past couple of weeks as to who would run the federal response to the BP Oil Spill once Admiral Allen is relieved as Commandant of the Coast Guard on Tuesday. Today, Secretary Napolitano put an end to the rumors when she announced that Admiral Allen would stay on as the National Incident Commander responding to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico after Admiral Robert Papp assumes command of the Coast Guard. Here is the press release that accompanied today’s announcement.
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, who is serving as the National Incident Commander, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, brief President Barack Obama about the situation along the Gulf Coast following the BP oil spill, at the Coast Guard Venice Center, Venice, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Post written by Department of Homeland Security Public Affairs Staff
Four-Star Admiral will step down as Commandant later this month as planned, will focus solely on response
WASHINGTON—Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced that U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen has agreed to remain in his current role as National Incident Commander for the administration’s continued, coordinated response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill after stepping down from his post as Coast Guard Commandant later this month as planned—enabling him to focus solely on managing the unprecedented response effort.
“Because Admiral Allen’s leadership has been so critical to our coordinated response to the BP Oil Spill, I have asked him—and he has agreed—to stay on as National Incident Commander after he steps down as Commandant of the Coast Guard later this month,” said Secretary Napolitano. “I commend his dedication to continuing to lead our administration-wide efforts to ensure that every available resource is leveraged efficiently and effectively to mitigate the spill’s impacts.”
“Since this event began, my focus has been on managing the all-hands-on-deck response to this ongoing incident,” said Admiral Allen. “Remaining in my current role as the National Incident Commander after being relieved as the Commandant will allow me to focus solely on this critical response, and Admiral Papp on the vital work of the Coast Guard.”
As planned and previously announced, Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., will relieve Admiral Allen as Commandant later this month.
As National Incident Commander, Admiral Allen works closely with Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, the federal on-scene coordinator, and the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Interior and Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal departments and agencies as appropriate—as well as BP, the responsible party in the spill—to oversee the continued deployment and coordination of vital response assets, personnel and equipment that have been activated since immediately after the spill.
Admiral Allen has overseen Coast Guard efforts since the event’s first moments, when the Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation in response to the April 20 explosion in order to save lives. Since then, the administration has continuously anticipated and planned for a worst case scenario, and Admiral Allen has led and coordinated ongoing federal actions to mitigate the oil spill, for which BP is responsible and required to pay response and cleanup costs.
Admiral Allen became the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard on May 25, 2006, leading approximately 42,000 men and women on active duty, 7,000 civilians, 8,000 reservists and 34,000 volunteer auxiliarists. The Commandant is the only four-star Admiral of the Coast Guard, and is appointed for a four year term by the President of the United States.
For information about the response effort, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by USCG (Official), Steve Snow, Googlewaveyour, Vincent Pica, Pam and others. Pam said: RT @USCG: ADM Allen to stay on as NIC for Gulf oil spill http://tinyurl.com/39pet4k #uscg #oilspill [...]
[...] for Admiral Allen, in a somewhat unprecedented move, Napolitano has asked him to stay on as the National Incident Commander responding to the Gulf oil spill. The combination of Allen’s credibility in the region [...]
Commander Allen. I just viewed a video, on CNN, of a giant oil skimming ship called ” A Whale”. It is awaiting review for approval to start skimming oil in the gulf disaster. All I can say, Sir, is get that thing approved. I don’t care what you do to get it done. Just do it. If anyone doesn’t like it, tell them that’s TOO BAD. This ship is going into service ASAP!
Thank you.