Commander Dustin “Dusty” Williams is a Military Fellow in the International Security Studies Program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Before arriving at Fletcher, he served as Executive Officer of Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans where he was responsible for the administration of all personnel, financial, and facilities requirements of the multi-mission air station that provided 24-hour launch capability in support of the Eighth Coast Guard District.
A native of Savannah, GA, he began his Coast Guard career when he enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserves and attended Basic Training in Cape May, NJ in August 2000. Upon completion, he attended Marine Science Technician “A” School and was assigned to the Marine Safety Office in Mobile, AL. He was commissioned in November 2003 after graduating from Officer Candidate School in New London, CT and was assigned to the Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard in Alexandria, VA. Following a tour at Marine Safety Unit in Savannah, GA he departed for Naval Flight Training in Milton, FL, where he earned his Naval Aviator designation in November 2008.
His operational aviation assignments include Air Station Borinquen, PR; Air Station Atlantic City, NJ and National Capital Region Air Defense Facility in Washington, DC; Air Station San Francisco and Forward Operating Base Mugu, CA; and, Air Station New Orleans, LA. During these tours he served as an Aircraft Commander, Instructor Pilot, and Flight Examiner in the MH-65D and Co-Pilot in the MH-60T. His staff assignment was at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF West) where he supported whole of government efforts to combat transnational organized crime, build institutional capacity of partner nations, and support the rule of law and international rules-based order in the maritime commons throughout the region. Prior to his staff assignment, he also served as the U.S. Coast Guard’s first Military Fellow at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, HI.
Commander Williams graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA in May 2003. He received a Master of Aeronautical Science with distinction in Aviation Education Technology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in May 2014. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College Joint Professional Military Education Phase-I program.
His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, four Coast Guard Achievement Medals, Army Achievement Medal, four Coast Guard Commandant Letters of Commendation, and Coast Guard Basic Training Honor Graduate.
He is joined in Massachusetts by his wife, Brittany, and daughters Emory and Amelia.