- Captain Charles (Charlie) Wilson was named the new Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi on Fri. July 19.
- He is a class of 1999 graduate from Port Aransas High School.
- He left for the Coast Guard Academy from Corpus Christi International Airport, 21 years ago, almost to the day.
- He is excited to settle back down with his family in the area he calls home and he considers this a full circle moment.
Captain Charles (Charlie) Wilson, a class of 1999 Port Aransas High School graduate, was named the new Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi on Friday, July 19.
The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi had a Change of Command Ceremony where Captain Hans C. Govertsen was relieved by Captain Charles K. Wilson. Captain Wilson considers stepping into this role a full circle moment.
Wilson is no stranger to the Corpus Christi and Port Aransas area. While he wasn't born here, he spent his childhood living just outside of Houston, and he moved to Port Aransas as a teenager and went to high school there.
“It still doesn’t feel real. I grew up here, this community raised me. I left for the Coast Guard from Corpus Christi International Airport so, full circle to come back around, and then take command of this air station back home," Wilson said.
Previous to recently moving back to Port Aransas, he served in the Coast Guard in Jacksonville, Florida.
“So, before this, I was executive officer of a helicopter interdiction tactical squadron out in Jacksonville, Florida," Wilson said.
Wilson said that he is the most excited to be back in the community that shaped him into who he is today.
“Port Aransas community is super tight. We had a lot of (Port Aransas HS) Marlins in attendance today. Once word got out that I was coming back, the outshowing of support from the community is just huge," Wilson said.
As the new Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, he is responsible for overseeing all air operations of the U.S. Coast Guard in Corpus Christi.
"A common misconception here is this building here at the airport contains both the Coast Guard sector, which is a separate command and then the air station. So as the air station, just responsible or for the air operations side of that, and that's three helicopters, and three fixed wing HC 144 air crafts. So, purely the air side," Wilson said.
Wilson said that Captain Hans C. Govertsen built a strong foundation in his time serving as Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi.
"I mean, coming into a unit like this, coming after a commanding officer like Hans, there isn't much to change. He set the foundation here. The unit is a well-oiled machine. They know what they're doing and they do it very very well," Wilson said.
Overall, he is most excited to reconnect with old friends and family members in his home of Port Aransas, and to raise his young children here.
“So, 25 years since I left here to be coming back, almost to the day. Earlier in my career I was able to make it back to Houston, and then the only box I had left to check off was to come back here to Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend," Wilson said.
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