An Athens native became the second female in history to achieve the highest U.S. Coast Guard rank in her career field as a criminal investigator.

Kristin Lindsay was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 4 Criminal Investigator on May 23 at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C. The first female service chief of any military service and the 27th Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan conducted the promotion.

Lindsay is the daughter of Elias and Margaret Lindsay and Terri and Colin Rankin of Athens. She was a student at Clements High School and has since earned her bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security/Emergency Management and her master’s degree in Public Administration, while serving her country in the U.S. Coast Guard since 2002.

During the first decade of her career, Lindsay served as a vessel operator conducting search and rescue and narcotics smuggling operations off the coast of the U.S. and volunteered for a 13-month tour in Iraq, protecting oil platforms in the disputed waters between Iraq and Iran. During that tour, she trained Iraqi military on vessel law enforcement boarding tactics and procedures.

In 2012, she was selected for a position with the Coast Guard Investigator Service as a special agent. She specializes in adult and child sex crimes, covert electronics, behavioral assessment and threat management, undercover operations, narcotics trafficking, homicide investigations, general criminal investigations and is a federal firearms instructor.

With CGIS, she has served in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Corpus Christi, and is now serving in Washington, D.C., in her 22nd year of military service. She has received awards from the Coast Guard, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security for her efforts as a Special Agent with CGIS.

Lindsay also said the Coast Guard … provided a pathway to success with a focus on diversity and inclusion committed to their core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty.

“My experience with the Coast Guard has been profoundly positive and the service provided me the opportunity to serve my country with pride,” she said.

Lindsay said she has no plans to retire any time soon and plans to continue her career with the Coast Guard until mandatory retirement at 30 years of service.