LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ROBERT C. COMPHER

COMMANDING OFFICER

COAST GUARD MARINE SAFETY UNIT LAKE CHARLES

Lieutenant Commander Compher is a 1997 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy. His first assignment was aboard Coast Guard Cutter DAUNTLESS, where he served as student engineer and Damage Control Assistant.

From 1999 until 2003, Lieutenant Commander Compher was assigned to Marine Safety Unit Galveston, where he initially held the position of Chief of the Marine Environmental Protection Branch and was later assigned as a marine inspector on oil and chemical tank vessels, barges, offshore supply vessels, and mobile offshore drilling units. He completed his tour there as Senior Investigating Officer.

In 2005, Lieutenant Commander Compher was assigned to the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center and served as Chief of the Small Vessel Branch and as member of the Salvage Engineering Response Team (SERT). During this period, he was involved in several high profile marine casualty responses, including deployment in 2006 as the sole federal naval architect following the capsizing of a 700 foot long vehicle carrier in Alaska, where he developed a counterintuitive solution which ultimately led to righting the vessel and saving its 4500 vehicle cargo. 

Lieutenant Commander Compher reported aboard as Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Lake Charles in June of 2009..

Lieutenant Commander Compher earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the Coast Guard Academy in 1997. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Michigan, where he earned a Master of Science degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering. Lieutenant Commander Compher holds a Professional Engineer license from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Lieutenant Commander Compher is the recipient of the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, and three Commandant’s Letters of Commendation.

Lieutenant Commander Compher is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. He and his wife Katy have one child, Luke.