ALAMEDA, Calif. — Coast Guard Southwest District personnel hosted a change-of-command ceremony, Tuesday on Coast Guard Island.
Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, commander Coast Guard Pacific Area, presided over the ceremony, where Rear Adm. Jeffrey Novak relieved Rear Adm. Joseph Buzzella as the commander of the Southwest District.
Novak previously served as the Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, providing counsel to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary regarding policies, plans, and other affairs between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.
Novak has commanded ashore and at sea, including Commander of Sector Detroit, Michigan, where he was responsible for all Coast Guard missions along the international border with Canada through Lakes Erie, St. Clair and Huron. He served aboard four cutters and commanded U.S Coast Guard Cutters Block Island and Grand Isle. As Commanding Officer of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Grand Isle, he led his crew on deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in 2003 for port security and coastal defense in support of U.S. and coalition forces during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
His other assignments include Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda, California, from June 2022 to April 2024. He also served as the Executive Assistant to the Assistant Commandant for Human Resources (CG-1) at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC and as the Special Assistant to 25th Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Paul F. Zukunft. From 2011 to 2013, Novak was assigned as the Coast Guard’s Senior Liaison to the State Department, and further detailed to the White House National Security Council to work on the National Strategy for the Arctic Region. Other ashore assignments include, as Deputy Commander of Sector Buffalo, New York; Budget and Programs Reviewer at Atlantic Area, Portsmouth, Virginia; and Operations Officer of Vessel Traffic Service Houston/Galveston, Texas.
Novak holds a Bachelor of Science in Government from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy, as well as a Master of Public Administration and Graduate Certificate from East Carolina University. He graduated with Distinction from the Naval War College of Naval Command and Staff, receiving the Director's Award for Academic Excellence. He is also a graduate of the Air War College with a Master of Strategic Studies. He is designated as a permanent Cutterman and Response Operations Ashore Professional. He was the 2020 Runner-Up Coast Guard Elite Male Athlete of the Year, with distinction in ultra-marathon and trail running.
Buzzella will continue his Coast Guard career and has been announced as the prospective commander of Pacific Area.
Buzzella was awarded his 3rd Legion of Merit for recognition of his leadership from July 2024 to July 2025. Under his leadership and oversight of 3.3 million square miles of ocean that included six Tier 1 ports, four Sectors, three Air Stations, 13 boat stations, 15 cutters, two buoy tenders, four Aids-to-Navigation Teams, and nine partner nations, the Southwest District conducted nearly 4,000 search and rescue cases leading to 955 lives saved, 2,680 mariners assisted, and $126 million in property protected. He led a historic pivot for the Department of Homeland Security's top priority to ensure border control and territorial integrity, coordinating an unprecedented surge of national assets to the southwest border, yielding the successful apprehension of over 1,600 illegal aliens, a 31 percent increase from previous years.
Buzzella established a framework of processes, command and control, aircraft, and law enforcement teams to support groundbreaking Alien Expulsion Operation flights supporting nearly 200 movements of over 2,300 illegal aliens for eventual expulsion from the country. Supporting counter-drug efforts in the Eastern Pacific, Coast Guard crews aggressively leveraged U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, and deployable specialized forces to interdict 65 vessels, detain 217 suspected smugglers, and prevent 100.8 million fatal doses of drugs from reaching America's streets and playgrounds. Emphasizing Marine Transportation System safety and security, he directed efforts to safeguard $800 billion in annual maritime commerce from kinetic and cybersecurity threats to safeguard the vital global supply chain and waterways.
-USCG-