COMMAND
COMMANDING OFFICER: CAPT Timothy Sommella
Captain Timothy C. Sommella is the Pre-Commissioning Detachment Commanding Officer of USCGC Calhoun (WSML 759) homeported in Charleston, South Carolina.
He has held a variety of sea-going command and staff positions throughout his career, including ten years on six Coast Guard and Navy warships. Most recently, he served as Executive Assistant to the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander and Defense Force East. He previously served as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security.
His shipboard operational assignments include Commanding Officer of USCGC Dauntless (WMEC 624) homeported out of Galveston, Texas, and Pensacola, Florida. He also served as Executive Officer of USCGC Valiant (WMEC 621) and Deck Watch Officer on the USCGC Venturous (WMEC 621). He is the former Navigator and Force Protection Officer of the USS O’Brien (DD 975) forwarded deployed to Japan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He commanded USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom and USCGC Padre (WPB 1328) as a 123-foot patrol craft in Key West, Florida.
Captain Sommella has completed a number of staff positions throughout his career specializing in public policy, budgeting, performance management, and human capital planning. He was a program examiner in the White House with the Office of Management and Budget where he focused on veteran employment and defense health initiatives. He served as a reviewer with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Budget and Programs responsible for coordination of legislative analysis and policy evaluation of the service’s Presidential and Congressional Budget submissions. He was also a planning officer with responsibility for defining operational requirements and manpower staffing levels for shore-side units across the nation.
He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2000 with high honors earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Government and completed his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2007. He recently completed a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 2020 where he earned his Joint Professional Military Education certificate, served as an Arleigh Burke International Fellow, and focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Captain Sommella is a member of the Association of Government Accountants and Certified Government Financial Manager.
Captain Sommella’s personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Coast Guard Commendation and Achievement Medals, and Military Volunteer Service Medal. He is a former Abshire-Inamori Fellow at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. He is a qualified Navy Surface Warfare Officer and permanent Coast Guard Cuttermen.
EXECUTIVE OFFICER: CDR Justin Strock
Commander Justin W. Strock, a native of Damascus, Maryland, graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 2004 with Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Engineering.
Upon commissioning, he served as Damage Control Assistant and Assistant Engineer Officer aboard USCGC VENTUROUS (WMEC-625) home ported in St. Petersburg, FL. He subsequently earned his Master of Science degree in Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech. Following post graduate school he served as the 110’ WPB Type Support Manager at the Engineering Logistics Center, Baltimore MD with follow on duty as the Condition Based Maintenance Program Manager for the Engineering Services Division of the Surface Forces Logistics Center. Commander Strock then served as Engineer Officer aboard USCGC BOUTWELL (WMEC-719) in Alameda, CA and USCGC CONFIDENCE (WMEC-619) in Cape Canaveral, FL where he was responsible operation, maintenance and repair of all Shipboard Hull, Mechanical and Electrical Systems. He then served as Supervisor of Sector Field Office Eastern Shore in Chincoteague, VA where he was responsible for the mission support of 4 Small Boat Stations, 1 Aids to Navigation team and maintenance of 32 Coast Guard owned housing units. Following his assignment in Chincoteague, VA, Commander Strock served as the Supervisor of the Coast Guard’s Afloat Training Organization Office in Mayport, FL overseeing the delivery of Operational Readiness Assessments, Training and Evaluations for the Atlantic Area cutter fleet. He then returned to the fleet aboard USCGC JAMES (WMSL 754) homeported in North Charleston, SC as the Engineer Officer. Most recently, Commander Strock served as the Naval Engineering Department Head at Coast Guard Base Charleston where he was directly responsible for the delivery of Depot Level Maintenance and support for three National Security Cutters and a 225’ WLB.
Commander Strock currently serves as the Prospective Executive Officer of the USCGC Calhoun (WMSL 759) Pre Commissioning Detachment in Charleston, SC.
Commander Strock holds a Second Assistant Engineers Merchant Mariner License. His personal awards include six Coast Guard Commendation Medals with Operational Distinguishing Device, two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, various other personal and unit awards as well as the American Society of Naval Engineers “Jimmie” Hamilton Award. He is married to the former Lisa Nastick of Germantown, MD and have two children Aubrey (13) and Macon (10).