CGA Team
Charlie Salls,
Senior Advisor
Charlie Salls advises organizations on institutional change, workforce readiness, and leadership development, with expertise in border and maritime security. He brings more than 30 years of U.S. Coast Guard experience and a frontline-to-headquarters perspective on how complex organizations build resilience and translate strategy into operational results.
During his final decade of service, Charlie held five senior enlisted advisory assignments, including four years at the Coast Guard’s highest levels. As the third Deputy Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, the service’s second-most senior enlisted position, he advised the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, the Vice Commandant, and senior leadership on decisions affecting more than 50,000 military and civilian personnel. As Command Senior Enlisted Leader for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, he advised the Area Commander on the readiness of approximately 39,000 Coast Guard personnel and Auxiliary volunteers across a region extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf, including during maritime border and coastal security operations.
Charlie was the architect of the Coast Guard’s Master Chief Advancement Panel, replacing a decades-old examination-based process with an evidence-based assessment of leadership and performance. He built enterprise-wide support for the reform without formal authority over those involved. The system remains in use today.
Previously, Charlie served as Command Senior Enlisted Leader for the Personnel Service Center, Fourteenth District, and Sector San Juan. He helped lead through Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the Red Hill water contamination crisis in Hawaii, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a prolonged government shutdown. He built partnerships across the Indo-Pacific, the Americas, and Africa. Earlier, he commanded Coast Guard cutters and shore units.
Born and raised in Venezuela, Charlie enlisted at 17 and is a native Spanish speaker. He holds a B.S in Homeland Security and Emergency Management from Thomas Edison State University, where he received the Arnold Fletcher Award for Academic Excellence, and is a graduate of the National Defense University Keystone Course.