The Observer, July, 2008

Coast Guard receives new commander

As of July 8, the Coast Guard will have a new commanding officer for Prince William Sound. Darryl Verfaillie will take over as Officer in Charge of Station Valdez, replacing Verne Gifford, who is being transferred New Orleans.

Verfaillie hails from Eastham, Massachusetts, and joined the Coast Guard in 1991. Before that, he served in the Merchant Marine from 1986 to 1991.

At present, he is chief of marine environmental response for the Coast Guard’s Thirteenth District in Seattle. He is also incident commander for the Pacific Area Incident Management Assist Team. In that role, he worked Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2006 wild fires in Arizona and New Mexico.

return to this edition