Charles D. Michel
Michel graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a degree in marine engineering with high honors in 1985.He also graduated in 1992 summa cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law as the salutatorian and is a member of The Florida Bar.[1] Other assignments have included a tour as staff attorney for the Eighth Coast Guard District at New Orleans, Louisiana and assignments at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as head of the operations division the Office of Maritime and International Law and a later tour as chief of the same office.[1] His flag assignments include director, governmental and public affairs, military advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, director, Joint Interagency Task Force South, deputy commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and deputy commandant of operations at Coast Guard Headquarters.[1] In addition to his military awards, Michel was the American Bar Association Young Lawyer of the Year for the Coast Guard in 1995, and the Judge Advocates Association Career Armed Services Attorney of the Year for the U.S. Coast Guard in 2000.