Commanding Officer

CAPT Erin Williams

Photo of Capt Erin Williams

Captain Williams assumed the duties as Commanding Officer of Activities Far East in June 2020. In this capacity, she directs Prevention missions in more than 40 Indo-Pacific nations and territories spanning 40% of the earth’s circumference, ranging from Madagascar to French Polynesia. As the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection she ensures U.S. commercial ships’ safety, security and environmental compliance as they traverse the world’s busiest shipping lanes. She also leads a contingent of International Port Security Liaison Officers who promote the effective implementation of globally accepted maritime security measures in foreign ports. Activities Far East, based in Japan, oversees a subordinate unit, Marine Inspection Detachment Singapore.
     
Prior to Activities Far East, she served as Training Director at the Coast Guard’s Leadership Development Center in New London, Connecticut, where she led the creation, maintenance and delivery of more than 20 courses and three officer accession programs. As the Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Unit Duluth, Minnesota from 2016-19, she fulfilled regulatory authorities as the Captain of the Port, Federal On Scene Coordinator, and Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, leading Coast Guard missions on Western Lake Superior and across 700 miles of international border with Canada. From 2014 to 2016, she served as the Executive Officer of Activities Europe in the Netherlands, acting as the Commanding Officer’s direct representative with a mission similar to Activities Far East, but spanning Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. 
    
In 2012, Captain Williams reported to the International Maritime Organization’s World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden as the Coast Guard Liaison Officer. During this tour, she instructed maritime affairs graduate students from over 65 countries and liaised with multiple international organizations and foreign governments on global maritime issues. Other assignments include Executive Officer of Marine Safety Unit Valdez, Alaska; Chief of Waterways Management and Assistant Chief of Inspections at Marine Safety Office San Diego, California; Training Analyst in the Office of Performance, Training and Workforce Development at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; and Assistant Engineer Officer aboard CGC HAMILTON (WHEC 715).
    
Captain Williams holds a Master of Arts in Educational Technology from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Science in Marine and Environmental Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. She was the Coast Guard’s 2022 Peace with Women Fellow to the Halifax International Security Forum, and is also the former Chair of the Coast Guard Women’s Leadership Initiative, a program supporting retention and professional development of women in the Coast Guard. Captain Williams is married to Neal Williams and they have six children.

Executive Officer

CDR Jeyar Pierce

Photo of COMMANDER JEYAR L. PIERCE

Commander Pierce assumed the duties as the Executive Officer of U.S. Coast Guard Activities Far East (FEACT) in July of 2022. He is the principle advisor to the Commanding Officer and is the alternate in performing a wide-range of federal authorizations to include Officer-in-Charge of Marine Inspections. Maintaining the Coast Guard’s largest area of responsibility, Activities Far East oversees operations spanning 43 countries from the Hawaiian Islands to the India/Pakistan border, southeast Africa, and as far south as New Zealand .

Prior to his assignment to FEACT, Commander Pierce was Executive Officer at Marine Safety Unit Texas City. His responsibilities included carrying out the Coast Guard’s Homeland Security, Marine Safety, and Marine Environmental Protection missions in the Ports of Galveston, Texas City, and Freeport, in over 120-miles of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, 40,000 square-mile region of the Outer Continental Shelf, and the entrance to the nation’s largest petrochemical complex.

This is Commander Pierce’s fifth overseas assignment in the Coast Guard with the most recent assignment as an International Port Security Liaison Officer (IPSLO) in Singapore.  As an IPSLO, he was responsible for assessing anti-terrorism measures in foreign ports through verifying implementation of international conventions and leading bilateral discussions with countries throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Commander Pierce shared and aligned security practices to reduce risks to U.S. ports and ships from bad actors, while also ensuring the security of the overall global maritime transportation system.

Commander Pierce enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2005 and as a Second Class Petty Officer he was accepted to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Officer Candidate School, where he graduated in 2006.  His other previous assignments include Situational Unit Controller, Sector Guam, Naval Base Marianas; Marine Inspector, Sector Seattle, Washington; Chief, Inspections Division, Sector Key West, Florida; Marine Inspector, Coast Guard Activities Far East, Yokota Air  Base, Tokyo, Japan, and Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Republic of Korea, U.S. Embassy Seoul, Korea.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Commander Pierce grew up in Bellingham, Washington. He is an honors graduate of Chaminade University of Honolulu, holding a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Historical and Political Studies.   Additionally, Commander Pierce holds a Master’s Degree in Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Northcentral University, and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from American Military University.  Commander Pierce has also completed courses in a variety of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, and Department of Defense mission areas.

Commander Pierce, is married to his amazing wife Miranda, a Coast Guard and Air Force veteran, they have one son Jadon.