Master Chief Phil Waldron assumed the duties of the 15th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard on July 25, 2025. Master Chief Waldron is the senior enlisted member of the Coast Guard and the principal advisor to the Commandant on all personnel matters.
Prior assignments as a Command Senior Enlisted Leader include the Personnel Service Center, where he advised on the effects of policy, procedures, and initiatives as they pertain to the total Coast Guard workforce of over 55,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian employees, along with an additional 30,000 Auxiliary volunteers. Prior to that he served as CSEL for the Coast Guard Arctic District, where he advised on operations and the well-being of all Coast Guard members and their families in Alaska. He also served as CSEL at Base Kodiak, AK, the service’s largest base and the senior mission support touchpoint for the Alaskan and Arctic maritime region.
Previous afloat assignments include Engineer Petty Officer, USCGC BUCKTHORN in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and aboard USCGCs ADAK and WRANGELL, both deployed to Patrol Forces Southwest Asia in Al Manama, Bahrain. His previous ashore assignments include Assistant Engineer Officer of Sector Mobile, Alabama and Station Belle Isle, Michigan, and as a Recruit Company Commander at Training Center Cape May, New Jersey.
Master Chief Waldron is a proud graduate of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy Class 201, Coast Guard Senior Enlisted Leadership Course Class 63, and he is a Keystone 25-1 fellow. Additionally, he graduated summa cum laude from Columbia Southern University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership.
A second-generation Coast Guardsman hailing from Plant City, Florida, Master Chief Waldron enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in August 1999. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Commandant’s Letter of Commendation, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and numerous other personal and unit awards. He has earned the privilege of wearing permanent Cutterman, Coxswain, Boat Forces Operations, Company Commander, and Command Master Chief insignias. Additionally, he was the recipient of the Chief Petty Officer Academy Class CCI “Spirit of the Chief” award and was selected as the 2008 USO Coast Guardsman of the Year.