Melissa Bert serves as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the United States Coast Guard. Rear Admiral Bert is the first woman to serve in this position. Prior flag assignments held by RADM Bert include the U.S. Coast Guard’s and Deputy Director of Operations for U.S. Northern Command. Core to her beliefs in advancing the next generation of talent, RADM Bert founded and launched the , supporting mentoring and professional development for Coast Guard women in uniform and civilians throughout the service.
Personal Life
RADM Bert was born in New York, NY. Her father, Ellis Bert, was a career Civil Rights Attorney, and her mother Allyne Bert, an elementary school teacher. Her sister, , trained as a classical guitarist, and later worked as a journalist and photographer. RADM Bert and her husband, , met in Miami, FL and they have one child.
Following her graduation from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, RADM Bert served aboard two Coast Guard cutters, including as Executive Officer of the Cutter Red Birch in Baltimore, MD. During the attacks of 9/11, RADM Bert was the Operations Officer for , protecting one of the nation's most valuable ports. In her legal career, she has served as a prosecutor, a Military Judge, Ethics Advisor, and as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the Seventh District in Miami, Florida. RADM Bert was the Speechwriter and Special Assistant to then Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thad Allen. In that role, she marketed the Coast Guard through strategic engagement opportunities and the drafting of persuasive policy speeches for national and international audiences. RADM Bert was also privileged to Command Sector Juneau and direct mission execution in the unique environment of Southeastern Alaska. This command was geographically positioned to cover a 500-mile, environmentally-sensitive, panhandle of Southeastern Alaska and home to the fishing, cruise ship, and maritime tourism industries of the region. She later headed the Coast Guard's Maritime and International Law Office providing legal advice on a variety of policies—including the Law of the Sea, drug and migrant interdiction, homeland security, search and rescue, pollution response, port and vessel safety/security, piracy, counter-terrorism, Arctic policy, environmental protection, and intelligence collection. RADM Bert further served as the Chief of Staff for the Seventh Coast Guard District, the Coast Guard's largest regional command. There she was responsible for oversight of Coast Guard budget, people, and operations in the Southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas. Following her promotion to flag-rank in 2016, RADM Bert served as the Deputy Director of Operations for the U.S. Northern Command, overseeing homeland defense and defense support for civil authorities for North America, as well as theater security cooperation with Mexico and The Bahamas. RADM Bert led the Northern Command's Future Operations Center in response to the devastating 2017 hurricane season of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. RADM Bert also served as the at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she synchronized the service's external engagement with Congress, the media, and strategic partners and stakeholders. In this role, she provided strategic, executive-level advisement for a high-profile communications outreach and public relations program for the Coast Guard. In April 2020, RADM Bert assumed the role of Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard. She leads over 500 attorneys and legal professionals providing counsel on all Coast Guard missions and people, as well as Congressional, Inter-Agency and Maritime Industry engagement.
