Sector Commander
Captain Scott B. Powers
Captain Scott Powers currently serves as the Sector Commander of Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Humboldt Bay, California. He is responsible for leading multi-mission operations to ensure the safety, security, law enforcement and environmental protection of 250 miles of rugged coastline along the rugged Northern California coast from the Sonoma-Mendicino County line to the Oregon border and inland to Nevada.
Prior to Sector/Air Station Humboldt Bay, he served as the Chief of Joint Operations North America on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In that role, he was the principal advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on air, land, and maritime homeland defense, Arctic operations, maritime operational threats, Presidential security, State Funerals, and Defense Support to Civil Authorities, including hurricanes, wildland firefighting, floods, and other natural disasters, and military support along the Southwest Border.
He has flown his entire operational career in the Pacific Area, serving in Alaska three times (twice in Kodiak and once in Stika), and twice in San Diego. Supporting the National Strategy for the Arctic Region and the Coast Guard’s Arctic Strategy, he expanded the United States’ presence in the Arctic Domain and strengthened national security and emergency preparedness through joint exercises and missions with International, Federal, State, Local, and Tribal interagency partners. He also led joint operations opposing transnational criminal organizations involved with drug and human trafficking, and safeguarding commerce along the Southwest Border of the United States.
Designated as an Aeronautical Engineer in 2005, Captain Powers served multiple tours as an Aeronautical Engineer alongside his operational duties as a pilot. He also served at Coast Guard Headquarters two separate times, managing the entire aviation operational and acquisitions budget, and served as the Deputy Chief of Aeronautical Engineering, overseeing the airworthiness, engineering, technical, maintenance, and overhaul support for the Coast Guard’s entire aviation fleet of over 200 aircraft.
A third generation Coast Guardsman, born in Mobile, Alabama and reared in Burke, Virginia, he received his commission from Officer Candidate School in Yorktown, VA in 1998. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from the University of Alabama, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Alaska, a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University, and an advanced certificate in Joint Professional Military Education from the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College and maintains senior-level Department of Homeland Security certifications in Program/Project Management, Program Financial Management, and Life Cycle Logistics.
Captain Powers accrued nearly 4,000 flight hours of military flight time, mostly in the Coast Guard H-60 helicopter, and held Flight Examiner, Instructor Pilot, and Alaska-qualified Aircraft Commander designations and FAA Airline Transport Pilot certification. His military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, multiple Meritorious Service Medals, Joint and Coast Guard Commendation Medals, and other various unit and personal awards.
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Deputy Commander
Commander Christopher N. McAndrew
Commander Christopher McAndrew reported as the Deputy Sector Commander of Sector Humboldt Bay and Executive Officer of Air Station Humboldt Bay in July of 2023. As Deputy, he assists the Sector Commander with leading over 200 personnel operating one cutter, two surf boat stations, an Aids to Navigation Team, and a three MH-65 helicopter air station to ensure the safety, security, law enforcement, and environmental protection of 250 miles of rugged coastline along northern California. This Lost Coast area of responsibility spans from the Oregon border south to the Sonoma-Mendocino county line along the coast inland to the Nevada border.
Prior to Sector Humboldt Bay, he served as the Chief of the Aviation Resources Division in the Office of Aviation Forces and was responsible for planning, programming, budgeting, and executing the entire Coast Guard aviation portfolio including all billets, assets, training, facilities, and future requirements. He oversaw the annual execution of the $462M Operations and Support budget supporting 24 air stations, 6 air facilities, 4,900 personnel, and over 200 aircraft.
Commander McAndrew is an MH-65 Dolphin Short Range Recovery pilot and has been a designated instructor pilot and flight examiner for both search and rescue and rotary wing air intercept missions accumulating over 3,200 hours of flight time. Previous aviation assignments include Air Station Borinquen, Air Station Atlantic City, and Air Station Barbers Point. He is a Federal Aviation Administration rated Certified Flight Instructor and a rotary wing Airline Transport Pilot. Before Naval Flight Training, he completed afloat tours aboard the CGC RELIANCE (WMEC-615) as an Engineer Officer in Training and the CGC DRUMMOND (WPB-1323) as the Executive Officer.
Originally from Niceville, Florida, Commander McAndrew graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and earned a Master of Science in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
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Command Senior Chief
Senior Chief Petty Officer Joseph D. Zrelak
Senior Chief Joseph D. Zrelak assumed duties as Command Senior Chief, Sector Humboldt Bay on July 11, 2022. His primary responsibility is to advise Captain Scott Powers, the Sector Commander of Sector Humboldt Bay, on issues and initiatives pertaining to all Coast Guard members and their families within Sector’s area of responsibility.
Most recently Senior Chief Zrelak served as Command Senior Chief for Sector Anchorage at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, AK. O t h er previous assignments include: Command Senior Chief for Base Los Angeles Long Beach in San Pedro, CA. Sector Boarding Team Supervisor fo r Sector Puget Sound in Seattle, WA; Chief of Police for Coast Guard Police Department, Base Kodiak,
AK; Engineer Petty Officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter ADAK, Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain; Mounted Automatic Weapons and Firearms Instructor for District 9 Mounted Automatic Weapons Training Team, Fort Knox, KY; Engineer Petty Officer for Coast Guard Station Marquette, MI; Machinery Technician at Coast Guard Cutter ROANOKE ISLAND, Homer, AK; Machinery Technician at Coast Guard Station Marquette, MI; and Fireman at Coast Guard Cutter NAUSHON, Ketchikan, AK. Senior Chief Zrelak enlisted in the Coast Guard on November 1996.
Senior Chief Zrelak is a proud graduate of the Coast Guard Senior Enlisted Leadership Course, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy, and DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s Uniform Police Training Program. Senior Chief Zrelak is a DHS Active Shooter Active Threat instructor, ICISF Individual & Group Intervention CISM instructor, resilience skills instructor, Operational Stress Control instructor & facilitator, Mindfulness Performance Enhancement Awareness and Knowledge (mPEAK) coach in training and pursuing an undergraduate degree in Applied Psychology from City University of Seattle.
Senior Chief Zrelak’s more notable personal awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Coast Guard Commendation Medals, seven Coast Guard Achievement Medals, three Commandant Letter of Commendation ribbons, the Operation Iraqi Freedom Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, and other personal and service awards. Additionally, he earned the Advanced Boat Forces Insignia, the response Operations Ashore Insignia, and three Command Silver Badges.
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