Robert H. Scarborough — U.S. Coast Guard Vice Commandant (1923–2020)

Overview of role and responsibilities

The office of the Vice Commandant is the service’s second-highest uniformed position. In that capacity, Scarborough acted as the principal deputy to the Commandant, assisting with overall direction, policy implementation, resource management and coordination among operational and support commands. The Vice Commandant traditionally represents the service in interagency and international settings and helps translate strategic priorities into programs and organizational practice.

Career context and era

Scarborough’s tenure as Vice Commandant (1978–1982) coincided with an era of changing maritime priorities — including expanded emphasis on search and rescue, marine environmental protection, fisheries enforcement, and maritime safety regulation — as well as broader geopolitical tensions of the Cold War period. Senior leaders during this time balanced readiness and law enforcement missions while adapting to new technologies and statutory responsibilities placed on the Coast Guard.

Background and development

Born in rural Georgia in 1923, Scarborough belonged to a cohort of officers whose service extended from mid‑20th century postwar modernization into the modern professional Coast Guard. Officers who reach flag rank typically have extensive experience in shipboard command, staff assignments, training and budgetary oversight; the Vice Commandant’s responsibilities draw on that range of operational and administrative expertise.

Legacy and notable facts

• Rank: Vice Admiral; served as the 13th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard (1978–1982).
• Life dates: 1923–2020; born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, and died in Arlington, Virginia, at age 97.
• As Vice Commandant, he occupied the service’s second-highest uniformed post and contributed to the institutional continuity of the Coast Guard during a period of evolving missions.

Records of Scarborough’s specific commands, awards and assignments are preserved in official Coast Guard histories and obituaries. His career exemplifies the professional development and leadership responsibilities associated with senior Coast Guard officers of his era, and his passing in 2020 marked the loss of a long-lived member of the service’s leadership community.

For more information on the office he held and the community he served, see official Coast Guard historical sources and local historical references to his birthplace.