Rear Adm. David C. Barata, Eighth Coast Guard District commander, visited Col. Rhett Blackmon, Galveston District commander, at the Jadwin Building July 6, 2023, and received a briefing on local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ projects and operations. Barata was sworn in as commander of the Eighth District June 23, 2023, in New Orleans, La. He is on an initial tour of Coast Guard sectors, air stations and cutters in the Eighth District, like the Houston-Galveston sector. As the 8th District commander, Barata is responsible for all Coast Guard operations spanning 26 states, including the Gulf of Mexico coastline from Florida to Mexico, the adjacent offshore waters and outer continental shelf, and the inland waterways of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee River systems. U.S. Army photo by Luke Waack.