Obama Gulf spill chief Thad Allen to start gig at RAND

Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen – who led the Obama administration’s on-site efforts to respond to the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill – will finally start a new gig Monday as senior fellow of the RAND Corporation.

“His experience and expertise will be apparent in our research and analysis on an array of homeland security, environmental and national security challenges,” RAND President and CEO James Thomson said in a statement.

The move is not a surprise as Allen was initially scheduled to join RAND in late May this year. His transition to the company was delayed when President Obama named him to lead the administration's Gulf spill emergency response and cleanup effort.

Allen was named the 23rd commandant of the Coast Guard in May 2006. He retired from that position June 30 but continued to serve as "national incident commander" overseeing the administration's Gulf response effort as a civilian. 

Earlier as chief of staff of the Coast Guard, he was a primary federal official overseeing the response effort to Hurricane Katrina and those recovery efforts in the Gulf, as well as commanding the Coast Guard’s Atlantic forces in the response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Allen will focus on homeland security, ocean policy and defense policy while at the Arlington, Va.-based RAND. His initial focus will be on the RAND’s Homeland Security and Defense Center, which does analysis to help prepare communities for natural disasters and terrorism.