Meet Director of Auxiliary DesaRae A. Janszen
CDR DesaRae A. Janszen, USCG
About the Office
The Directory of Auxiliary (DIRAUX) is a senior, active-duty U.S. Coast Guard officer charged with the active promotion and administration of Auxiliary affairs in the District, and for compliance with instructions and directives governing the Auxiliary organization. The DIRAUX is the direct representative of the Commander, District 11, a rear admiral,and receives policy direction from the Chief Director of Auxiliary (CHDIRAUX) in Washihgton, DC. The current Director of Auxiliary for District 11 Southern Region is Commander DesaRae Janszen, USCG, who reported aboard in July, 2012.
Personal History
Commander DesaRae Janszen is the current Director of Auxiliary for District 11, Southern Region. Her duties include administering, supporting, advancing and executing the Coast Guard Auxiliary program for more than 1,800 Auxiliarists living in Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
Prior to this assignment, CDR Janszen was the Waterways Management Division Chief for Coast Guard Sector San Francisco where she led Vessel Traffic Service San Francisco, Aids to Navigation Team San Francisco, and the Waterways Safety Branch. Commander Janszen grew up in Casper, Wyoming, and after a summer at the Academy Introduction Prorgam in 1989, reported to the United States Coast Guard Academy in the summer of 1990. After 4 years of academics and 2 trips to Europe and back on the Coast Guard tall ship EAGLE, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Government in May 1994.
Her first tour of duty was on the Coast Guard Cutter GENTIAN, a 180’ buoy tender in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, where she gained valuable experience as an underway OOD, Navigator and participated in extensive Haitian Immigrant Repatriation Operations during the summer of 1994. In 1996, she transferred to pre-commission the Coast Guard Cutter WILLOW, a 225’ buoy tender that was the most state-of-the-art ship in the world at that time. As Operations Officer, she sailed the WILLOW from Marinette, Wisconsin to Newport, Rhode Island, escaping the Great Lakes just 24 hours before the locks closed for the winter. In 1998, she reported to Alameda, CA, as the District 11 Aids to Navigation officer, and then was selected as an Admirals Aide in 2000.
In 2001, she transferred to Honolulu, Hawaii as the District 14 Public Affairs Officer, where she regularly conducted national media interviews including CNN, NBC’s Today Show and CBS’s Early Show. In July of 2006, she transferred to Coast Guard Sector New York, where she served as Chief of Personnel for the largest Sector in the Coast Guard. In 2007, she chose to take advantage of the Coast Guard’s Care of Newborn Children program and became a Coast Guard Reservist for 2 years.
In 2009, she returned to Active Duty and reported to Sector San Francisco. Commander Janszen earned a Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management in 2002 and a Master of Arts Degree in Communications from Hawaii Pacific University in 2004, where she was valedictorian.
Her personal awards include three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement medal and 9 Meritorious Team Medals. Commander Janszen is the proud mother of twins, and is a proud stepmother as well. She is married to Commander Jeffrey Janszen, who is currently assigned as the Deputy of Coast Guard Sector San Diego.