Capt. Owen Gibbons Completes First Year as Commanding Officer of TRACEN

Last summer, Capt. Owen Gibbons relieved Capt. G. Todd Prestidge and became the new Commanding Officer of U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May (TRACEN).
Gibbons enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1985 and served as a deck seaman aboard CGC Redwood in New London, Conn. before attending Electronic Technician Class “A” School in 1987. He served as a Petty Officer aboard CGC Tampa in Portsmouth, Va. and at Station Tybee in Savannah, Ga., and then attended Officer Candidate School in 1993. He was assigned to Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic on Governor’s Island, N.Y. as Training Officer after receiving his commission.
In 1995, he was assigned to CGC Firebush in Kodiak, Ala. where he served as a Deck Watch Officer, Operations Officer, Navigator and Boarding Officer. In 1997, he was assigned as the last Commanding Officer of CGC Point Francis in New London, Conn. and cross-decked to commission CGC Chinook in the same home port. Initially assigned as the Ship Control and Navigation Training Simulator (SCANTS) Coordinator at the Coast Guard Academy in 2000, he was later selected to serve as the Assistant School Chief for the Command and Operations School at the Leadership Development Center.
In 2003, he served as Commanding Officer of the CGC William Tate in Philadelphia, Pa. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a Master of Science degree in Organizational Dynamics in 2006. He served as the Deputy Chief of the Office of Leadership and Professional Development at Coast Guard Headquarters, and was subsequently assigned as Commanding Officer of CGC Willow in Newport, R.I. in 2008. In 2011, he served as the Executive Officer of our very own TRACEN, and then in 2014 reported as Officer Candidate School Chief at the Leadership Development Center.
Gibbons is an Honorary Chief Petty Officer, a permanent Cutterman with nearly 14 years at sea, and a Coast Guard Master Training Specialist. His personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (2), Coast Guard Commendation Medal (4) and Coast Guard Achievement Medal (2). He and Kathy, his wife of 30 years, are proud parents of their daughter Kaitlin who works as an Instructional Designer for Bisk Education in Tampa, Fla.
Cape May County officially welcomed Gibbons “home” after a two-year absence during a traditional Change of Command Ceremony on June 17, 2016 at TRACEN’s Parade Field. The ceremony represented a total transfer in responsibility, authority and accountability from Prestidge to Gibbons. “It was a day full of big emotions for me,” says Gibbons. He was not only excited to achieve a significant personal career goal, but also to follow in the footsteps of two close friends and mentors whom he’d worked with while serving as Executive Officer of TRACEN.
For Gibbons, his return to Cape May has felt like a homecoming. He shares that although he and his family usually look forward to discovering the locale of a newly assigned location, coming back to an old favorite and seeing familiar faces that add to the character of the community has been far more rewarding. “It has been an amazingly comfortable transition,” Gibbons shares. “It is so rare as a military family to be able to return and rejoin not only a team whose players you know well, but also be fortunate enough to rekindle relationships with friends and partners from across the community.”
The Captain is truly enjoying his new role. One thing he is able to do that he has not often done before is venture outside the property line at TRACEN. This advantage allows him to engage with community groups and civic leaders to work toward mutual goals, often while sharing the inspiring stories of the young men and women trained each week right here in the Coast Guard’s Hometown.
Gibbons’ first year as Commanding Officer has certainly been a busy one. TRACEN is best known for training recruits to become the enlisted workforce of the Coast Guard, and he’s been working to increase the throughput to 4,250 recruits this year. But beyond that, TRACEN is host for 13 other tenant commands, and recently welcomed two new Fast Response Cutters to its waterfront. Additionally, in this past year, Gibbons and his personnel have been able to leverage TRACEN’s recruits and training staff to help the Coast Guard test and refine a new tactical pistol training course to be adopted as a new standard throughout the Coast Guard. Furthermore, the folks at TRACEN have developed a beta test program that screens recruits and physically prepares selected graduates for the demands of the Coast Guard’s Aviation Survival Technician (more commonly known as a Helicopter Rescue Swimmer) School in Elizabeth City, N.C., helping to reduce training time and keep those crucial jobs filled.
“The year has gone incredibly quickly,” Gibbons says, “but has been a truly gratifying return to a mission I love in a community Kathy and I have grown to adore.”