Air Station San Francisco Command Leadership

Commanding Officer

Captain Christopher M. Huberty

Captain Huberty was born into a military family and spent his childhood growing up throughout the United States and Europe. He is a 1995 graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in mechanical engineering. 

After receiving his commission as a Direct Commission Engineer in July of 1997, Captain Huberty served his initial tour as a specification writer at MLC Pacific developing dry dock and dockside maintenance packages for vessels on the West Coast. After completing Naval Fight Training in Pensacola, Florida in October of 2000, his first aviation tour was flying the HH-65A helicopter at Air Station Los Angeles, California. Captain Huberty’s second aviation tour was Air Station New Orleans, Louisiana where he served as the Assistant Aeronautical Engineering Officer flying the HH-65B in multiple major hurricanes, to include Ivan, Dennis, Katrina and Rita along with standing the first watch at the National Capital Region Air Defense Facility in Washington, DC. Following four years in New Orleans, he reported to Air Station North Bend, Oregon where he flew the HH-65C and served as the Aeronautical Engineering Officer for two years. 

In 2010 he was selected for and attend the aeronautical structural engineering program at Purdue University. After earning his Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering in June 2012, he reported to the Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Here Captain Huberty transitioned to C-130Hs and served not only as the C-130H Product Line Engineer but also the Long Range Surveillance Product Line Manager, following a brief assignment as the Engineering Services Division Chief. 

Captain Huberty returned to the operational Coast Guard and the H-65 fleet as the Engineering Officer at Air Station San Francisco in the summer of 2016 and fleeted up to serve as the Executive Officer in 2017.  In 2019 he was assigned to District 11 to serve as the Incident Management Branch Chief, where he oversaw all search and rescue along with all marine environmental responses in D11’s 3.3M square mile AOR. In 2022, Captain Huberty assumed command of Air Station San Francisco.

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Executive Officer

Commander Eric G. Vryheid

CDR Eric Vryheid currently serves as the Executive Officer at Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, CA.

CDR Eric Vryheid began his Coast Guard career as a Student Engineer and Damage Control Assistant aboard CGC RESOLUTE from 2007 to 2009 in St. Petersburg, FL, conducting search and rescue and law enforcement operations throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Gulf of Mexico. From 2009 to 2010, he joined the pre-commissioning crew as the Assistant Engineer Officer, becoming a plank owner of CGC WAESCHE and helping establish the service’s second National Security Cutter. From 2010 to 2012, he attended U.S. Navy Flight Training at NAS Whiting Field near Pensacola, FL, where he flew the T-6B and TH-57B/C and earned his designation as a Naval Aviator.
From 2012 to 2016, he served as an MH-65C/D pilot at Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi, TX, flying search and rescue, law enforcement, and living marine resource missions along the U.S.– Mexico maritime boundary in South Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. He also held roles as the unit’s Facilities Officer, Public Affairs Officer, Flight Scheduler, and Administration Officer. From 2016 to 2020, CDR Vryheid served as an MH-65D Instructor Pilot and Flight Examiner at Air Station Miami, conducting search and rescue, law enforcement, migrant interdiction, and hurricane response missions in South Florida. He also held assignments as External Affairs Officer, Standardization Officer, Safety Department Head, and Assistant Operations Officer/Chief Rotary Wing Pilot.

From 2020 to 2022, following his operational tours in Coast Guard aviation, CDR Vryheid served as a Fellow in the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Majority. He assisted and advised Committee staff and three U.S. Senators on policy, oversight, and authorizations for the US Coast Guard, Maritime Administration, and Federal Maritime Commission. From 2022 to 2024, CDR Vryheid served as a Strategic Analyst at the Office of Emerging Policy (CG-DCO-X) at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. There, he advised the Deputy Commandant for Operations on strategic foresight and new policy areas for the Coast Guard.

CDR Vryheid graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

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Command Senior Chief

Senior Chief Petty Officer Peter N. Gardikis

Senior Chief Gardikis is a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, and currently serves as the Command Senior Chief of CG Air Station San Francisco. As Command Senior Chief, he advises Captain Christopher Huberty, the Commanding Officer of Air Station San Francisco, on issues and initiatives pertaining to morale, welfare, job satisfaction, discipline, utilization, and training of enlisted personnel.

Senior Chief Gardikis graduated Coast Guard Basic Training in May of 1999. For the next year, he was stationed on the CG Cutter Morgenthau out of Alameda, CA. This is when he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in aviation. Pete received orders to Air Station San Francisco as an Airman and attended AST “Rescue Swimmer” School in 2001. After a few physical setbacks, he
reassessed his CG future and decided to change his direction. He attended & graduated Aviation Maintenance Technician “A” school from Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, OK in August of 2001.

Pete completed 5 years at CG Air Station Sacramento, CA qualifying on the HC130H as a Dropmaster and Sensor System Operator. His next assignment took him overseas for another 5 years to CG Air Station Barbers Point, HI, where he qualified as an HC130H Loadmaster and Flight Engineer. Then, he headed back to Air Station Sacramento, CA for a short two years. In 2013, Pete advanced to the rank of E7 and received orders to CG Aviation and Technical Training Center in Mobile, AL. There he qualified as a basic aircrewman on the HC144 and filled the roles of Structures Shop, Maintenance Control, and Night Shift Chief. In 2017, he was reunited with the C130 when he received orders to CG Air Station Clearwater, FL, where he served as the C130 AMT Rating Manger and flew again as aircrew. Most recently, Senior Chief Gardikis completed his role as the Leading Chief Petty Officer of CG Air Station San Francisco, CA.

Senior Chief is a graduate of the CG Chief Petty Officer Academy (Class 205). He received his Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees from Excelsior College.

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