"Pu'uwai O Ke Kai" - "Heart of the Sea"

Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Jason D. Halsabeck

Lieutenant Commander Jason Helsabeck previously served as the Operations Officer aboard USCGC STRATTON (WMSL 752), in Alameda, CA from June 2023 to June 2025. In this capacity, he was responsible for all maters related to the operations of the ship and employment of embarked aircraft and small boats to meet mission requirements across the entire Pacific and Western Pacific areas of responsibility.

His first two assignments were afloat aboard CGC ALEX HALEY and CGC CHANDELEUR out of Alaska where he served as the 1st Lieutenant and Executive Officer respectively. LCDR Helsabeck was then assigned to the Coast Guard National Command Center in Washington, D.C. where he briefed the Commandant and other senior Coast Guard leaders on all ongoing operations/missions throughout the globe. In 2017, LCDR Helsabeck was assigned as the Current Operations Officer for Patrol Forces South-West Asia in Manama, Bahrain. In that role he managed six patrol boat schedules and all CG operations in support of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet strategic objectives. He then took command of the CGC BENJAMIN DAILEY out of Pascagoula, MS conducting operations across the Gulf of Mexico and along the U.S. Mexico maritime boundary line. Prior to his current assignment, LCDR Helsabeck served at the Pentagon on the Joint Staff where he was responsible for all plans and policy relating to maritime migration, transnational criminal organizations, and counter narcotics efforts across the Department of Defense.

LCDR Helsabeck graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2010 with a B.S. in Business Management and earned a masters in Defense and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.

LCDR Helsabeck’s military awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Coast Guard Commendation Medals, a Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, the Commandant’s Letter of Accommodation and various other personal and unit awards.

Printable Bio (pdf) 

Executive Officer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Amanda M. Dennis

Lieutenant Junior Grade Dennis assumed the role as Executive Officer of USCGC WILLIAM HART (WPC 1134) in July 2024.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Dennis served afloat previously as a Deck Watch Officer aboard USCGC BERTHOLF (WMSL 750).

Lieutenant Junior Grade Dennis graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, Main Campus in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. While at Penn State, Lieutenant Junior Grade Dennis won 4 Big Ten championships for the varsity women’s soccer program from 2016-2019. After Penn State, Lieutenant Junior Grade Dennis played professional soccer for the NWSL’s Houston Dash, and won the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup title in her rookie campaign. After her retirement from professional soccer she graduated Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in November 2022.  Her personal awards include the Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Meritorious Team Commendation Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Dennis currently resides in Kailua, Hawaii.