After four years at the United States Coast Guard Academy, Craig Bennett began his service as a USCG Officer in 1982, serving many active-duty, at-sea assignments as well as multiple active-duty shore assignments.
Now, more than 40 years later, he retires as Deputy Assistant Commandant for Resources and Deputy Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a role which he has served in since September 2013. A component of the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard is comprised of a nearly 60,000-member active-duty, reserve and civil servant workforce with an annual budget of $13 billion.
Sharing the vacancy announcement for his position on LinkedIn, Bennett stated, “I can tell you from personal experience, this is a great job, working with great people, focused on great missions. It’s been a great ride.”
Prior to his role as Deputy CFO, Bennett served as the Director of the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) – part of the USCG – where he was responsible for all aspects of the liability and compensation provisions of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, including stewardship of the multi-billion-dollar Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Prior to joining the Senior Executive Service in 2008, he was the Chief of the Financial Management Division at the NPFC where he had served since retiring as a USCG officer in November 2004.
Bennett earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington in 1992. He is a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), and a past national president of the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC). Bennett was awarded the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award in 2014.