The U.S. Coast Guard held a retirement ceremony for Rear Adm. Francis “Stash” Pelkowski on Saturday at the West Islip Fire Station in West Islip, N.Y.
The ceremony honored Pelkowski’s 38 years of dedicated and distinguished service to the Coast Guard.
Pelkowski’s retirement was presided over by the Coast Guard’s 25th commandant, Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, the top official of one of the country’s five armed services.
In his latest leadership role, Pelkowski served as the Deputy Commandant for Operations, Senior Reserve Officer (SRO). Pelkowski facilitated the operational readiness of 7,000 reservists to be prepared to respond to emergencies, domestically and abroad. Prior to that, he served as the Atlantic Area SRO and currently sits on the Coast Guard Academy Board of Trustees. He also served as a member of the Department of Defense Reserve Forces Policy Board, an independent advisory board that recommends Reserve Component strategies, policies, and efficiencies to the Secretary of Defense.
Most recently, in 2017, Pelkowski helped coordinate the activation and logistics of thousands of reserve personnel in response to an extremely busy hurricane season when three powerful hurricanes hit the American mainland and Caribbean Islands.
