Commander Gordon A. Hood is the Executive Officer of Training Center Cape May, the birthplace and hometown of our enlisted workforce. He is second in command of the U.S. Coast Guard’s only boot camp and simultaneously oversees the base functions, facilities, and services of the large installation.

CDR Hood reported to Cape May in June 2024 after attending the senior-level leadership program at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Prior to that he served as Deputy Commodore for Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (CTG 55.1), headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, where he led a diverse team within U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (FIFTH Fleet) to equip, deploy, and support mission-ready Coast Guard forces conducting maritime security, smuggling interdiction, and professional engagement with international partners across the Middle East.

As a career Cutterman, CDR Hood has furthered America’s global strategy from the Arctic to the Arabian Gulf. With nearly a decade of sea time, he previously commanded USCGC KITTIWAKE (WPB 87316) in Kauai, Hawaii, OAK (WLB 211) in Newport, Rhode Island, and served temporarily as a relief captain of HOLLYHOCK (WLB 214) in Port Huron, Michigan for icebreaking on the Great Lakes. He also served twice aboard SPAR (WLB 206) in Kodiak, Alaska, and was executive officer of WRANGELL (WPB 1332) forward deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

While ashore, CDR Hood has worked primarily in organizational training and education. Past assignments include as an instructor on faculty at the U.S. Naval Academy, and as the performance analyst and assistant training officer for the Coast Guard’s largest Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia. He was also the National Aids to Navigation school chief, where he led the instruction and standardization programs for the operational workforce that maintains the constellation of buoys, beacons, and lighthouses that enhance national economic security by providing safe navigation along America’s waterways.
CDR Hood graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2005 with a degree in marine and environmental science. He has also earned a Master of Science in organizational performance and workplace learning from Boise State University and a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.

In addition to military service awards and medals, CDR Hood received the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration unit citation for hydrographic survey in the Arctic region and the U.S. Navy Craftmaster insignia as a yard patrol craft officer-in-charge. He is a permanent Cutterman and honorary lightship sailor.

CDR Hood and his wife Arlene are New England natives and high school sweethearts. They married in 2005, have four children, and enjoy outdoor adventures together as a family.

To download the complete Bio click this Link.