CAPT Mike Darrah currently serves as the USCG Service Chair and a member of the faculty at The Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
Previously, he was detailed to the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as Deputy Director of the Chairman’s Action Group (2024–2026) where he led a select team of strategists and synchronized efforts across the Joint Staff to support the Chairman in his role as principal military advisor to the President. Prior to that, CAPT Darrah spent a year as a Military Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, conducting policy research with CSIS experts in various fields of geopolitics and strategy.
A career aviator with over 3,000 flight hours, CAPT Darrah completed his most recent operational tour as Deputy Commander of Sector Humboldt Bay in Northern California (2020-2023), overseeing all personnel across the Sector, air station, and five field units. For two years prior, he managed all regional surface and air missions along 210 miles of Northern Pacific coastline as the Chief of Response, Operations Officer, and Chief Pilot.
At Coast Guard Headquarters (2017–2020), he directed aviation special missions in the Office of Counterterrorism and Defense Operations, working with NORAD and the U.S. Secret Service to manage air defense capabilities for the National Capital Region and the President of the United States. On a special project directed by the Secretary, he pioneered the Department of Homeland Security’s first Counter-UAS capabilities in a unique joint program between the Coast Guard and Secret Service.
CAPT Darrah’s previous flying assignments include Air Stations Barbers Point, Hawaii; New Orleans; and Atlantic City. He was an Instructor Pilot in both Rotary Wing Air Intercept and Search and Rescue mission sets, and accumulated 200 shipboard landings on U.S., French, and Japanese warships. Before earning his wings in Pensacola in 2006, he served as a Deck Watch Officer and Boarding Officer aboard USCGC THETIS, conducting patrols throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
CAPT Darrah earned a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from the USCG Academy in 2003. He holds an MBA from George Mason University, a Master's in Defense and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and is a graduate of the USCG Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, the Army’s High-Altitude Aviation Training School, and the USCG Leadership Development Center.
His personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge. Outside of work, CAPT Darrah is an avid sailor, scuba diver, and snowboarder. He and his wife Angela have one daughter.