Command

Commanding Officer: Commander Mary Gilday

Commander Mary Gilday assumed her position at Marine Safety Unit Morgan City following a tour as the Western Rivers and Waterways Management Deputy for the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans, Louisiana. In that role, she facilitated waterborne commerce through aids to navigation and instituted the district's first Marine Transportation System (MTS) Recovery Support Cell duty section. Commander Gilday's leadership and management helped maintain the country's most extensive navigable waterway system, ensuring cargo valued at over $5 trillion continued to move safely through the global MTS following natural and incidental waterway disruptions. With the rapid emergence of commercial space activity affecting ports and waterways, she worked harmoniously with private enterprises and the Federal Aviation Administration to balance the industry's demands with those of traditional maritime stakeholders. Moreover, she maintained federal partnerships and coordination throughout 26 states, spanning the Gulf of Mexico coastline from Florida to the U.S.-Mexico border, the adjacent offshore waters, the outer continental shelf, and the inland waterway systems.

Commander Gilday has focused her prior ashore assignments around the Coast Guard's maritime regulatory mission, taking proactive measures to prevent mariner casualties, property loss, and security risks while protecting the marine environment. As the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) at Marine Safety Unit Houma, LA, Commander Gilday oversaw the Nation's largest marine investigation offshore zone and offshore energy port in the Gulf of Mexico's Outer Continental Shelf. Before serving as the SIO, Commander Gilday served as the Assistant Chief of Inspections for Marine Safety Unit Morgan City, Louisiana, where she supervised and conducted offshore inspections on mobile drilling units, floating and fixed production facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, as well as inspections of barges, offshore supply vessels, and crew boats.

Commander Gilday's extensive underway experience includes tours aboard USCGC FORWARD (WMEC 270), as a Deck Watch Officer and USCGC GALLATIN (WHEC 378), as the Weapons Department Head. In these roles, she safely navigated the ships and performed vital maritime operations in migrant interdictions, search and rescue, and other law enforcement operations.

A proud 2007 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Commander Gilday earned a Bachelor of Science in Government. Her personal awards and accolades include the 2020 Congressman James Sener Award for Excellence in Marine Investigations, Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, five Coast Guard Commendation Medals, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, and multiple unit and operational distinctions.

Commander Gilday hails from a family dedicated to military service. She was born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in Saint Petersburg, FL, the daughter of an Air Force veteran father and a Taiwanese-American mother. Her sister and brother-in-law also serve in the Coast Guard as active-duty officers.

Executive Officer: Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Meacham

Lieutenant Commander Matt Meacham graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.  His first assignment was as a Student Engineer aboard the USCGC HAMILTON (WHEC 715) homeported in San Diego, CA where he served as the Electrical Division Officer and Damage Control Assistant. 

In 2011, he reported to Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur, located in Port Arthur, TX as a Marine Inspector, Port State Control Officer and Command Duty Officer.  Upon tour completion in 2014, he then reported to USCG Activities Europe, located in Schinnen, Netherlands where he was a Journeyman Maine Inspector and Chief of Domestic Inspections, carrying out and overseeing USCG inspections on commercial vessels in the USCG’s largest area of responsibility which included Europe, Africa and the Middle East. 

In 2019, LCDR Meacham graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master of Science degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering.  Upon graduation, he reported to USCG Head Quarters to the Office of Engineering and Design Standards as a staff engineer where he developed international and domestic commercial shipping standards, regulations and policy.

In 2021, LCDR Meacham reported to the Office of Operations and Environmental Standards located at USCG Head Quarters as the Chief for the Vessel and Facility Operating Standards division.  He was responsible for overseeing the development and promulgation of regulatory changes and strategic level guidance to field units and industry partners pertaining to commercial vessel and facility operations in the Maritime Transportation System and Outer Continental Shelf activities.  LCDR Meacham also oversaw all USCG efforts in processing applications for deepwater ports including conducting the independent risk assessments and developing the US government’s Environmental Impact Statement for each proposed project. In June2023, LCDR Meacham reported to Marine Safety Unit Morgan City as the Executive Officer.

LCDR Meacham is a native of Soldotna, Alaska and currently resides in Prairieville, Louisiana with his wife Yarixa and two children, Ann Marie and Aaden.