Rear Admiral Scott Clendenin serves as the U.S Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Response Policy. He is responsible for U.S. Coast Guard policy in seven operational mission areas, including emergency management and disaster response, defense operations, law enforcement, search and rescue, maritime security, counterterrorism, and marine environmental response.
Previously in his career, he served afloat for fourteen years at sea on Coast Guard cutters conducting multi-mission patrols from Canada to South America in the Atlantic and Pacific, and throughout the Caribbean. In his first two tours at sea on cutters, he served as a Deck Watch Officer on board USCGC HARRIET LANE based in Portsmouth, VA, and as the Operations Officer on board USCGC SENECA based in Boston, MA. He then served as the Commanding Officer of four Coast Guard cutters, including USCGC NUNIVAK based in San Juan, PR, USCGC MONSOON based in San Diego, CA, USCGC CAMPBELL based in Portsmouth, NH, and USCGC HAMILTON based in Charleston, SC. His sea service included multi-ton narcotics seizures, illegal migrant smuggling interdictions, search and rescue, homeland security operations, defense operations, maritime mass migration response, and disaster response. He has also worked extensively with international partner nations in international maritime operations and engagement exercises.
In his staff assignments ashore, he served as the Maritime Watch Coordinator at the Drug Enforcement Agency's El Paso Intelligence Center, the Coast Guard Attaché assigned to the U.S. Defense Attaché Office in the Dominican Republic, Fellow to the Director of the National Security Agency, the first Deputy Commander of the Coast Guard Cryptologic Group, and the Executive Assistant to the Director of Coast Guard Intelligence and Criminal Investigations. In addition, he served as the National Security Council Director for Central America and Caribbean Affairs and as the Executive Assistant to the Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations. In his most recent assignment, he served as the Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the newly established interagency Transnational Organized Crime Strategic Division.
His personal awards include two Legion of Merits, two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, seven Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medals, the Distinguished Service Medal of the Dominican Armed Forces, and other personal and unit awards.
He holds a Certificate in Public Leadership from the Brookings Institution, a M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI, a M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College (now the National Intelligence University), and a M.A. in Human Resource Development and Management from Webster University, St. Louis, MO. He is a 1990 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.