Frederick C. Billard

Who was Frederick C. Billard?

Frederick Chamberlayne Billard served as the sixth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1924 until his death. Billard's military career began with his appointment to the School of Instruction of the Revenue Cutter Service in 1894. Among his experiences before becoming Commandant, Billard commanded several cutters, served as aide to two Commandants and also served twice as superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy. After rising through the ranks, he was appointed to serve as Commandant in January 1924 and with the appointment, the rank of rear admiral. His leadership of the Coast Guard during the prohibition era required careful planning and use of available resources to accomplish the mission while making sure that other required missions weren't slighted. He was very involved in the training of his officers as a superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy and he was responsible for the permanent location of the academy at New London, Connecticut. Because of his emphasis on training, formalized coursework for enlisted personnel and standardized testing procedures for advancement in rating occurred while he was Commandant.