The Coast Guard 14th District held a change of command ceremony at Coast Guard Base Honolulu bidding farewell to Rear Adm. Matthew Sibley and welcoming Rear Adm. Michael Day, Friday.
The ceremony was presided over by Vice Adm. Michael McAllister, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area.
“It has been an honor to serve alongside the women and men of our service these past few years,” said Rear Adm. Sibley. “Through our interagency partnerships and that of the state of Hawaii, we found a way to continue frontline operations supporting maritime governance and a free and open indo-pacific, all while facing a once-in-a-century pandemic.”
Day, a native of Brockton, Massachusetts, is arriving at the Coast Guard 14th District after serving as the military advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security where he provided counsel to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary regarding policies, plans, and other affairs between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.
A 1991 graduate of the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in Yorktown, Day’s prior duty stations include serving in the Strategy and Policy Directorate (J5) for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, commanding officer of the Pacific Strike Team, and commander of Coast Guard Sector New York.
On September 11, 2001, while serving as the Chief of Waterways Oversight in the Port of New York and New Jersey, Day was immediately designated as the Coast Guard on-scene commander for the evacuation of lower Manhattan, coordinating the evacuation of over 500,000 people aboard over 100 civilian vessels resulting in the largest maritime evacuation in history.
Day’s education includes master’s degrees in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and Public Administration from Bridgewater State University. He also completed a one-year fellowship at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government as a National Security Fellow and participated in a one-year Industry Training program with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
“I look forward to reinvigorating our alliances with like-minded Pacific Island Countries and Territories throughout Oceania,” said Rear Adm. Day. “The Coast Guard will continue to exercise our unique authorities through persistent presence and cooperation in this region to improve maritime security.”
Sibley, a native of West Islip, New York, is moving on to continue his Coast Guard career as the deputy commander of the United States Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda, California.
Sibley held the duties as commander of the Coast Guard 14th district since June 2020. During that time he was responsible for directing Coast Guard operations throughout Oceania, including Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and activities in Singapore and Japan.
Prior to assuming command of the Coast Guard 14th District, Sibley’s career includes nearly 10 years of service afloat, with command tours aboard the Coast Guard Cutters Forward, Thatcher, and Point Monroe. Sibley also served aboard the Coast Guard Cutters Gallatin, Morgenthau and Spencer and is a Permanent Cutterman.
He also served ashore as the command center controller at the Eighth Coast Guard District, senior duty officer in the White House Situation Room, assignment officer at Coast Guard Personnel Command, Coast Guard fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), military assistant to the Secretary of Homeland Security, commander of Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, deputy director of the Reserve and Military Personnel (CG-13D), executive assistant to the Assistant Commandant for Human Resources (CG-1A) , and deputy commander, Coast Guard Personnel Service Center at Coast Guard Headquarters.
Sibley’s education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from the United States Coast Guard Academy and a master’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University.
The 14th District covers more than 12.2 million square miles of land and sea, with units on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, the Big Island, and in American Samoa, Saipan, Guam, Singapore, and Japan. They maintain vital relationships with strategic partners around the Pacific. The district commander oversees operational units ashore and afloat throughout the Pacific, which regularly perform missions in maritime safety, protection of natural resources, maritime security, homeland security, and national defense.
