Capt. Jessica Worst and Capt. Robert Kistner pose at U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam after their change-of-command ceremony on Oct. 4, 2024. Worst is arriving from an assignment at U.S. Northern Command and Kistner is retiring after more than two decades of service. (Sara Muir/U.S. Coast Guard)
A new commander took the helm for the Coast Guard on Guam last week as it prepares to expand its already busy fleet of cutters.
Capt. Jessica Worst took over responsibility for Coast Guard Forces Micronesia Sector Guam from Capt. Robert Kristner during a ceremony Friday at the Naval Base Guam theater, according to a Coast Guard press release that day.
Worst comes aboard during a significant U.S. military expansion on the island. Billions are invested into building a new Marine Corps base, upgrading Anderson Air Force Base and doubling to six the Coast Guard’s fleet of Sentinel-class fast-response cutters homeported on the island.
Kristner served as the interim sector commander since May and will retire from the Coast Guard to rejoin his family in New York, according to the release.
Under his leadership, Guam-based Coast Guard crews responded to 162 search-and-rescue operations, saving and assisting 246 lives and nearly $30 million in property throughout Micronesia, according to the news release.
“We thank Capt. Kistner for his outstanding service and dedication, and we wish him the best in his well-earned retirement,” U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia posted on its Facebook page on Saturday.
Worst, of Ledyard, Conn., previously served as the Current Operations Division chief at U.S. Northern Command, where she led a joint force of 85 personnel focused on homeland defense, civil support and security cooperation focused on a full spectrum of threats to the United States, according to the release.
“Her operational experience is extensive, with time on multiple cutters, including in Oceania as commanding officer of [U.S. Coast Guard Cutter] Sequoia in Guam,” the release said.
Three fast-response cutters have been stationed on Guam since July 2021. No date is fixed for the arrival of three more, Coast Guard Indo-Pacific commander Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson told reporters Sept. 27.
They can move faster than 28 knots and cover 2,500 nautical miles during a five-day patrol. They are armed with a stabilized 25-mm machine gun mount and four crew-served .50-caliber machine guns, the website states.
Coast Guard Forces Micronesia Sector Guam executes a wide range of missions, from protecting the maritime economy and the environment to defending maritime borders and saving those in peril, the release said.
“As we move forward under Capt. Worst’s leadership, we are excited about continuing our mission to ensure Pacific maritime safety, security, and environmental stewardship,” the Coast Guard posted on Facebook.
