Military Advisor Rear Admiral Fred M. Midgette

Rear Admiral Midgette assumed the duties of Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security in May 2011. In this assignment, his primary responsibility is to provide counsel and support to the Secretary in affairs relating to the coordination and execution of policy and operations between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.

His prior assignment was as Chief of Staff of the Ninth Coast Guard District where he served as the principal deputy for all Coast Guard policy and operations on the Great Lakes.

He was the Sector Commander and Captain of the Port of Sector Detroit from 2008 – 2010, and has served in a number of joint and liaison positions including tours at the Pentagon, on the Joint Staff (J-7, The Joint Force Interoperability Directorate); as a liaison officer to the US Customs Service in Washington, DC; and as the Coast Guard’s liaison officer to US Northern Command in Colorado Springs, CO.  He has also served in shore assignments as the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Operations at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington DC; as a Company Officer at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT; and on the Training Infrastructure Study and Streamlining Implementation Team at Coast Guard Headquarters.

He is a Coast Guard Cutterman, and a qualified Surface Warfare Officer having served afloat on both coasts and the Great Lakes sailing in: USCGC TANEY (Portsmouth, VA); USS FIFE (San Diego, CA); USCGC POINT LEDGE (Fort Bragg, CA); USCGC POINT WINSLOW (Eureka & Morro Bay, CA); USCGC KATMAI BAY (Sault Ste. Marie, MI); USCGC HARRIET LANE (Portsmouth, VA); USCGC FORWARD (Portsmouth, VA); and on America’s Tall Ship - the Coast Guard Barque EAGLE.

Rear Admiral Midgette is a native of Virginia Beach, VA and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Coast Guard Academy – 1982), a Masters of Science in Management (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – 1991), and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies (Naval War College – 1997).