SAN FRANCISCO — Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel hosted a change-of-command ceremony, Friday on Yerba Buena Island.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Andrew M. Sugimoto, the Eleventh Coast Guard District commander, presided over the ceremony, where Capt. Jordan M. Baldueza relieved Capt. Taylor Q. Lam as the Sector San Francisco commander and Captain of the Port of San Francisco.
Baldueza’s previous assignment was as the deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco.
Prior to Sector San Francisco, Baldueza served as the response department head at Sector Houston-Galveston where he oversaw ports, waterways, and coastal security, maritime law enforcement, living marine resources, search and rescue, and marine environmental response missions across Southeast Texas to Southwest Louisiana. From 2015 to 2018, he was the training division chief at Special Missions Training Center in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina managing the design, development, and delivery of 13 “C” schools for the Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized, Tactical Boat, and Expeditionary Forces. Prior to that, he served as commanding officer of Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) New York leading an 80-person team in conducting maritime security, anti-terrorism/force protection operations and law enforcement missions across the nation and overseas.
The Sector San Francisco commander's responsibilities include captain of the port, federal on-scene coordinator, officer-in-charge of marine inspections, federal maritime security coordinator and search-and-rescue mission coordinator.
The area of responsibility spans from the California-Oregon border to the San Luis Obispo County line, as well as much of Nevada, Utah, parts of Wyoming and includes more than 2,500 miles of shoreline within the San Francisco Bay and its tributaries.
Sector San Francisco is made up of more than 600 Active, Reserve, and Civilian Coast Guard men and women operating three cutters, seven Small Boat Stations, an Aids to Navigation Team, a Vessel Traffic Service, and a Marine Safety Detachment in addition to more than 1,000 Coast Guard Auxiliarists.
Lam’s next assignment is the chief of staff of Coast Guard District 11 located in Alameda.
Lam was cited for meritorious service as commander, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, from June 2021 to May 2024. He advanced maritime safety, security, and environmental protection to safeguard a nationally-critical $76 billion annual Marine Transportation System.
He championed unity of effort among 55 local, state, and federal partners to enforce safety and security zones to protect 22 Heads of State during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, including the President of the United States and the President of China during the first National Special Security Event in the Bay Area in over two decades.
As chair of the Northern California Area Maritime Security Committee, he garnered $12 million in port security grants for maritime law enforcement and industry partners to procure critical security infrastructure and law enforcement equipment and provide training to enhance the protection and resiliency of the Marine Transportation System.
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