LIEUTENANT COMMANDER IAN M. STARR
Editorial Board
LCDR Ian Starr is a career cutterman currently serving as an Executive Fellow at the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis, MD.
From 2019-2021, LCDR Starr served as Executive Officer of CGC Alex Haley (WMEC 39), conducting fisheries enforcement, search and rescue, and international engagements in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. He was selected for the Hopley Yeaton Superior Cutterman Award in December 2020.
From 2017-2019, LCDR Starr served in the Joint Chiefs of Staff J5 (Strategic Plans & Policy) directorate. He developed strategic policy initiatives and advised senior Department of Defense and National Security Council leaders on maritime-related topics affecting homeland defense. He was selected as the J5 Western Hemisphere Action Officer of the Year in May 2019.
From 2013-2016, LCDR Starr served as Commanding Officer of two Island-class patrol boats: CGC Aquidneck (WPB 1309) in Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, and CGC Chandeleur (WPB 1319) in Ketchikan, Alaska. In Bahrain, LCDR Starr and his crew supported U.S. and coalition forces throughout the Arabian Gulf. In Alaska, he conducted search and rescue, fisheries enforcement, and security operations throughout the Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska. In 2014, LCDR Starr earned his permanent qualification as a Coast Guard Cutterman.
From 2010-2013, LCDR Starr served as a Command Duty Officer at the National Command Center (NCC) in Washington, D.C. He helped coordinate Maritime Operational Threat Response events, liaised with the Department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Center, and provided policy guidance to senior USCG and DHS decision makers.
From 2008-2010, LCDR Starr served as Navigator aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93), where he deployed throughout the Third, Fifth, and Seventh Fleet areas of responsibility. In 2009, LCDR Starr was named the Destroyer Squadron 31 “Junior Officer Shiphandler of the Year,” and earned his Surface Warfare Officer qualification in 2010.
From 2006-2008, LCDR Starr served as a Deck Watch Officer aboard CGC Diligence (WMEC 616), where he conducted counter-narcotic operations for Joint-Interagency Task Force South, and alien migrant interdiction operations for the Coast Guard’s Seventh District.
LCDR Starr graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2006 with a degree in Government. In 2016, he earned a Master of Arts degree in Defense and Security Studies from the Naval War College in Newport, RI.
LCDR Starr has been awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, multiple Coast Guard and Navy Commendation and Achievement medals, and various other personal, unit, team, and service awards. He resides in Maryland with his amazing wife and three wonderful children.