CDCA 2025 Eastern Defense

Michael Campbell
Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO)
USCG


Rear Admiral Campbell currently serves as the U.S. Coast Guard’s Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO). As CAO he directs efforts across all Coast Guard acquisition programs, acquisition support, personnel, finance, contracting, and research and development activities to execute the service’s acquisition portfolio. Prior to being designated as the CAO in May 2025, he served as Director of Acquisition Programs and Program Executive Officer (PEO). His duties included management oversight of all Coast Guard acquisition programs and projects for the modernization and recapitalization of surface, air, command and control, and logistics assets in support of the Coast Guard’s multiple maritime missions. Rear Admiral Campbell previously served as the Chief of Staff for the Eleventh Coast Guard District. He was the principal advisor to the District Commander on all Coast Guard missions conducted in the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah and the coastal and offshore waters, to include 3.3 million square miles from the California/Oregon border to Peru. Rear Admiral Campbell’s career includes a mix of aviation operations and engineering, cutter engineering, and aircraft acquisition assignments. He first served as Engineer and Deck Watch Officer aboard CGC Northland in Portsmouth, Virginia, as a Port Engineer at Naval Engineering Support Unit, New Orleans, and earned his wings at Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, Florida, in 1998. At Coast Guard Headquarters, Rear Admiral Campbell served as the H-65 Helicopter Conversion/Sustainment Acquisition Project Manager where he managed the $1.15 billion project to modernize the Coast Guard’s fleet of 102 H-65 helicopters. Rear Admiral Campbell’s operational assignments include plank owner and HH-65A/B Aircraft Commander Group-Air Station Atlantic City, New Jersey; plank owner Engineer Officer of Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) Jacksonville, Florida; Executive Officer of Air Station/Sector Field Office (SFO) Port Angeles, Washington, Commanding Officer of Air Station San Francisco, California; Commanding Officer of HITRON Jacksonville, Florida; and Chief of Response for the Eleventh Coast Guard District. Rear Admiral Campbell holds a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the Coast Guard Academy, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University Eisenhower School in Washington, DC. He is a DHS Senior Fellow, a graduate of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leaders Program, and holds a DHS Level III Program Management certification since 2008. Originally from Cape May, New Jersey, Rear Admiral Campbell received his commission from the Coast Guard Academy in 1994. Rear Admiral Campbell and his wife, Beth, are the proud parents of two daughters, Lia and Shannon. Rear Admiral Campbell’s military awards include the Legion of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, and multiple unit awards.

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