United States Coast Guard Captain Mark Shepard assumed command of the National Strike Force Coordination Center (NSFCC), Elizabeth City, North Carolina on June 15, 2017. The National Strike Force totals over 200 active-duty, civilian, reserve and auxiliary personnel.
The NSFCC provides oversight and strategic direction to the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Strike Teams, the Incident Management Assist Team and Public Information Assist Team. The Strike Teams provide rapid response management support in oil spill and hazmat-release incidents and natural and man-made disasters. During September 2017, 200 Coast Guard Strike Force personnel deployed to Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Florida in response to the devastating hurricanes.
Captain Shepard previously served as Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Incident Management Assist Team (IMAT) in Norfolk, Virginia. Immediately before assuming command, he was Operations Department Head of IMAT from its commissioning in 2013.
Captain Shepard served as the Executive Officer of the Gulf Strike Team in Mobile, Alabama from 2009 to 2012, where he led a Deployable Specialized Force in supporting Coast Guard Incident Commanders with preparing for and responding to natural and man-made disasters. During this period, his unit responded to a helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of four Coast Guard aviators in Mobile Bay; the BP oil spill; and the 2010 earthquake in Port Au Prince, Haiti.
Captain Shepard is a native of Fayetteville, a graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School class of 1990, SUNY Maritime College 1994, and U.S. Naval War College 2013 with a Masters of Art in National Security and Strategic Studies. He is married to Sandra Joy Shepard, also from Fayetteville; and they have one daughter Siera, who attends Syracuse University. He is the son of Walter and Nancy Shepard of Fayetteville.
