U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen on Courage In Leadership

Talking to 1,200 employees from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said “I honor your mission. It is my mission. It is the mission of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

He congratulated their work on the guiding document currently being refined at Conserving the Future Conference in Madison, WI and reminded attendees the importance of staying relevant.

“You’ve got to have the courage to believe in yourself,” said Allen. “You have to stay the course.” His shared memories of salmon runs and time spent on the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge were warmly received by the crowd.

Allen served as national incident commander for the unified response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. He also directed the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf region.