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Biography - Gary W Palmer

Captain Gary Palmer, U.S. Coast Guard (retired) received his B.S. from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1974 and his J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Miami School of Law in 1983. After retiring in 2004 from active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard after 30 years of distinguished service, Captain Palmer taught Criminal Justice and Maritime Law Enforcement at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy until 2008. His last assignment on active duty was as the Commander of the Coast Guard Personnel Command. Prior to that, he served as the Coast Guard’s Deputy Director of International Affairs. In 2001, Captain Palmer was appointed as a Judge of the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals. From 1998-2000, Captain Palmer served in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. While on active duty, he also served as the Chief of the Law Faculty at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, was appointed as a Special Court-Martial judge, and served as Staff Judge Advocate for the Seventeenth Coast Guard District Commander in Juneau, Alaska. Captain Palmer commanded USCGC DEPENDABLE from 1990-1992, with direct responsibility for drug, fisheries, and immigration law enforcement, as well as search and rescue. Prior to that, he served as the Head of the Criminal and Civil Law Departments at the Naval Justice School, and as Executive Officer, USCGC VIGOROUS. In 1984, he was appointed as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and was named as the ABA’s Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Coast Guard. Captain Palmer was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1983. He also served as Commanding Officer of USCGC POINT LOBOS. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit (2) and the Meritorious Service Medal (2). He also received the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director’s Meritorious Service Award. He is the author of Guarding the Coast-Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations At Sea, 29 Conn. L. Rev. 1565 (Summer 1997), also in Naval War College International Law Studies, Volume 72 (1998). Captain Palmer and his wife Doreen reside in Columbia, CT.