Commander James Bennett has 25 years of distinguished service in the United States Coast Guard (USCG). He is the current Operational Technology Cyber & Communications Security Division Chief under the Command Control, Computers, Communication, Cyber & Intelligence (C5I) Program Executive Office at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. He leads 50 personnel overseeing the Coast Guard’s radio frequency spectrum management, cryptographic Key Management Infrastructure, and TEMPEST Programs. He is the cyber Assistant Authorizing Official’s Designated Representative (A-AODR) for C5I Operational Technology systems, responsible for obtaining cyber authorizations, creating, and implementing cyber risk strategies for $2.5 billion in assets.
CDR Bennett began his career in 2001 attending bootcamp in Cape May, NJ. After attending Electronics Technician “A” School, he was assigned as a tube transmitter technician at LORAN Station Port Clarence, AK, one of three isolated Arctic long range navigation stations maintained by the Coast Guard at that time. During assignment to Electronics Systems Support Detachment New Orleans from 2004-2006, he assisted in rebuilding the Coast Guard’s lower Gulf Coast command, control, and communications infrastructure, contributing to saving more than 34,000 lives during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After attending Officer Candidate School in 2007, CDR Bennett served as a Student Engineer and Damage Control Assistant on Coast Guard Cutter MORGENTHAU in Alameda, CA, where he trained allied nation Coast Guard crews in damage control and operation of engineering safety systems during Cooperative Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises in Southeast Asia. From 2012-2016, while serving at Project Resident Office Gulf Coast at Huntington-Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, MS, he led command and control, navigation, and combat weapons systems design, integration, and underway trial testing efforts on newly constructed National Security Cutters, earning the DHS Acquisition Program of the Year award in 2015.
After completing graduate school and advanced cybersecurity training at the Defense Intelligence Agency, he served as the Intelligence Systems Authorizing Official’s Designated Representative within the Coast Guard Intelligence Directorate from 2017-2022. In this role, he created and executed the cybersecurity governance program including assessments for $400 million in classified intelligence systems. His most recent assignment was the Major Systems Acquisitions Technical Director and led electronics system installation projects and acquisition strategies for National Security Cutter, Offshore Patrol Cutter, and Fast Response Cutter acquisition programs. During this assignment, he established the first afloat In-Service System Sustainment (ISSS) electronics system recapitalization program in Coast Guard history, totaling over $800 million, receiving initial funding in 2025 after obtaining DHS and Congressional approvals.
A native of Russellville, AL, CDR Bennett graduated from Thomas Edison State University in 2005 with a B.S. in Electronics Engineering Technology. He also holds M.S. degrees in Engineering Management from Oklahoma State University and in Technology Intelligence from the National Intelligence University. He holds several professional certifications including Senior DHS Program Manager, Project Management Professional, and Certified Information Security Manager. He and his wife, Ashley, have two children and reside in Stafford, VA.