ST. LOUIS - Capt. Martin L. Malloy relieved Capt. Byron L. Black as commander of Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River in an official change of command ceremony Friday.
As sector commander, Black served as captain of the port, federal maritime security coordinator, officer in charge of marine inspection, and search and rescue mission coordinator. He was responsible for all Coast Guard missions conducted by 286 active duty, reserve and civilian men and women. He assumed command of Sector Upper Mississippi River in July 2011.
Malloy graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and was commissioned as an officer in the Coast Guard in 1990. His operational tours in the Coast Guard include: Marine Safety Office New Orleans, Marine Safety Office Miami, Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, Va., and executive officer of Marine Safety Office Cleveland.
Sector Upper Mississippi River (UMR) is the largest Coast Guard Sector in the lower 48 states with an area of responsibility comprised of 11 states and over 2,200 miles of commercially-navigable waterways primarily including the upper portion of the Mississippi River, the Illinois River and the Missouri River. This region includes 33 locks and dams, 238 bridges and seven major population centers.
During Black’s tenure, he led the Coast Guard’s response to historic flooding on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in 2011 as part of a multi-agency humanitarian response in seven states. In late 2012 and early 2013, he worked with three Coast Guard Sectors, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the maritime industry to manage the impacts of historic low water on the Middle Mississippi River ensuring that over $8 billion worth of critical cargo continued to flow through the region. During historic flooding on the Mississippi River in 2013, Black led the response to a 114 barge breakaway that was caused by large amounts of debris in the river.
In addition, Black oversaw the response to over 900 marine casualties and 72 oil and hazardous materials spills, administered 126 enforcement actions and orchestrated 203 marine events.
Under his leadership, Coast Guard crews executed over 612 search and rescue cases, 751 recreational vessel boardings and over 1,800 marine security and response operations.
Black is departing St. Louis to become the chief of the Prevention Division at the 1st Coast Guard District in Boston.