SACRAMENTO — Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento is scheduled to hold a change-of-command ceremony at McClellan Airfield, Friday morning.
Capt. John McCarthy is scheduled to replace Capt. Carola List as the air station's commanding officer.
McCarthy reports to Air Station Sacramento from the Coast Guard Office of Congressional Affairs where he served as a Congressional Fellow to the House Majority Whip. McCarthy previously served as the military aide to President Barack Obama.
McCarthy also served as Coast Guard Air Station Washington's executive officer from 2014 through 2017, where he oversaw the 32-person unit, two globally deployed Long Range Command and Control Aircraft (LRCCA) and the acquisition of the Coast Guard's newest LRCCA, the C-37B.
Additional operational assignments have included Coast Guard Air Station Miami, where he flew search and rescue and law enforcement missions in the HU-25 Falcon throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. McCarthy was commissioned at the Coast Guard Academy in 1997. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Coast Guard Academy, a master's degree in public administration from George Washington University and a master's degree in business administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
List will be reporting to Coast Guard Headquarters to serve as the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support.
List assumed command of Air Station Sacramento in July 2016 as the unit was transitioning from the legacy HC-130H Hercules aircraft to the recently acquired HC-27J Spartan aircraft. During her tenure as Air Station commanding officer, List’s numerous accomplishments included leading the operational activation and utilization of the Spartan, establishing the logistics and supply systems to support the maintenance on the new aircraft program and forging new relationships with partner agencies in support of the full range of Coast Guard and Homeland Security missions along the Pacific Coast and across the United States.
Air Station Sacramento is made up of 203 active duty and civilian personnel operating six HC-27J Spartan medium-range surveillance, search-and-rescue aircraft supporting Coast Guard missions. The air station’s area of responsibility spans two Coast Guard districts extending from the Canadian border south to the Mexican border and includes approximately 1,300 miles of coastline.
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