Lt Justin Vanden Heuvel

Married to Jennifer; son Arie, 5, and daughter Willa, 4

Lt. Justin Vanden Heuvel tackled two of the Coast Guard’s most challenging operations in 2010, taking both on with what fellow officers called quick thinking and careful planning.

On less than a day’s notice in early January, the 36-year-old prepared a crew for contingency operations after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti. As executive officer of the seagoing buoy tender Oak, Vanden Heuvel navigated into Port-Au-Prince’s harbor at night and helped get a crucial ship channel reopened within 36 hours of his ship’s arrival.

On Two months after the 30-day deployment to Haiti, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and began leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Oak supported nearly three months of response operations.

On Seen as a leader, follower and mentor, Lt. Vanden Heuvel personally gives of himself to junior enlisted like no other person,” Lt. Cmdr. Peter Niles, Oak’s commanding officer, wrote in nominating Vanden Heuvel.

On Vanden Heuvel left the Oak this month for an assignment starting Aug. 1 as school chief of the Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Course in New London, Conn.