New commander at Maritime Safety and Security Team Miami

  • Published
  • By Jake Shaw
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD ARB, Fla. --  Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan D. Theel assumed command of the Coast Guard’s Maritime Safety and Security Team Miami in a ceremony here at Homestead Air Reserve Base on May 26.

MSST’s are highly specialized teams on the water that are extremely mobile and world-wide deployable. Since its commissioning in 2005 MSST Miami has been deployed for over 300 days.

Coast Guard Capt. Bradley M. Jacobs, Chief of Response Enforcement for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the ceremony.

Lt. Cmdr. Theel takes over from Lt. Cmdr. Carlos Mercado, who is transferring to Coast Guard District Fourteen Incident Management Branch, Honolulu, Hawaii, after commanding MSST Miami since its commissioning on Jan 31, 2005. 

As the commander of MSST Miami, Lt. Cmdr. Theel will oversee all functions of the team, which are heavily focused on the deterrence, identification and interdiction of possible terrorist threats against our nation’s waterways.

For the past three years, Lt. Cmdr. Theel was the Deputy Commander for Coast Guard Group Grand Haven, Michigan. He has also served previously as a Deck Watch Officer aboard the USCGC VALIANT in Miami and later as the Officer in Charge of the Law Enforcement Detachment 5F at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. His primary duty at LED 5F was the pursuit of drug traffickers in the Caribbean.

Lt. Cmdr. Theel’s deployment experience includes a three month tour in Bahrain where he served as the assistant Coast Guard liaison officer to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Officer in Charge of the Law Enforcement Detachment in Bahrain. For his service in Bahrain he received the Navy Commendation Medal, which is not commonly awarded to personnel not in the Navy.

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Lt. Cmdr. Theel graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1996. He also holds a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

In his remarks to welcome the new MSST Commander, presiding official Capt. Jacobs said we must keep threats clear of our borders and manage our time, people and assets to make sure we do our best at every task, every day, in every way.

During a short speech to the plank owners of MSST Miami, Lt. Cmdr. Theel said, “Each of you has your own reason for being a member of this unit.” Later he added, “We have a lot of specialized skills in our unit, and we need to work on getting them integrated into the entire Coast Guard.”

For his part, outgoing commanding officer Lt. Cmdr. Carlos Mercado had this to say to the MSST Miami plank owners; “One word describes this unit – resilient. Continue to give Lt. Cmdr. Theel the same support and dedication you have afforded me and you will continue to be successful.”