RADM Richard “Rick” Gromlich, USCG (Ret)

A native of Milton, Pennsylvania, retired from the Coast Guard on July 1, 2016 after 33 years of distinguished service. In his final tour of duty, he served as Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District in Seattle, WA where he was responsible for all Coast Guard operations throughout the Pacific Northwest. Rear Admiral Gromlich graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He completed Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, Florida in 1986 and logged more than 3,600 flight hours attaining qualifications as an Aircraft Commander and Instructor Pilot in the HH-65A/B, and as an Aircraft Commander in the HH-60J. In 1997, he earned a Master of Science in Industrial Administration from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Business. As a rotary-wing aviator, Rear Admiral Gromlich’s operational and command tours of duty included Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center (ARSC), now the Aviation Logistics Center, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina; Executive Officer of Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and Aeronautical Engineering Officer at Air Station Savannah, Georgia. He also served as the Inventory Manager, Chief of the Logistics Support Branch and Chief of the Engineering and Industrial Support Division at ARSC. Other tours of duty included Air Station North Bend, Oregon; Air Station San Diego, California; and afloat as a Deck Watch Officer aboard the 180-foot buoy tender USCGC Papaw in Charleston, South Carolina. To supplement his operational background, Rear Admiral Gromlich substantially improved the Coast Guard’s operational readiness and integrated support services system during multiple logistical tours which included assignment as the Coast Guard’s first Director of Operational Logistics (DOL), Director of the Mission Support Integration Office (DCMS-5), Chief of the Office of Logistics (CG-44), and Director of the Logistics Transformation Program Integration Office (LTPIO). He currently works as a consultant for Potomac Ridge Consulting. He and his wife Bonnie live in Denver, NC. They have four children – Matthew, Bridgette, Neil and Jordan – and are active members of Newsong Church in Cornelius, NC.