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CITATION TO ACCOMPANY TIm AWARD OF

TIlE COAST GUARD COMMENDATION MEDAL

TO

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER DEREK A. D'ORAZIO

UNITED STATFSCOAST GUARD

Lieutenant Commander D'ORAZIO is cited for outstanding achievement in the pedonnance of duty while serving as SeniorInvestigating Officer in the Investigation Branch at Marine Safety Office Houston-Galveston, Texas, from July 1999 through April2004. Lieutenant Commander D'ORAZIO demoDStrated exceptional leadership in direct support of the Coast Guard's MaritimeHomeland Security and Marine Safety mjssions in the busiest petrochemical and foreign tonoag~ port in the United States. As teamleader for OPERATION DRYDOCK. the Coast G\larIPs national initiative to identify and investigate ftaudulem merchant matiner

.... applications, be led a 6 member team at the National Maritime Center in a five week rigorous and detailed review of 4, 457 mercbaDlmariner records, uncovering 9 persons who had been placed on the U.S. Government's terrorist watch list. These 9 records wereturned ovcrto' the FBI for further investigaIion. His leadership in this substantial effort directly contributed to the Department ofHomeland Securiifs effort to prevent potential terrorist infiltration inall f~ oftnmsportation. His c:xceptional management of oneof the highest investigation caseloads in the Dation eamed recogDition .from both the Eighth District and HeadquarteIs program.managers. He tenaciously led numerous high-pro.61e investigations. working seamlcssly with multiple law enfOrcement agencies. Onthe MN WELL PBSCADORES, he was one of the first officials to board and gather critical evidence in support of the StateDepartmeotlmuiti-agency criminal investigation of the vesSel's master and crew under the PD 27 process. These crewmen forced fivestowaways overboard, two ofwbich tumcd up Dtissing and w~ presumed dead. The ship was seized by its flag state Panama whoprosecuted the pmpetratoES: During the investigation of the capsizing of the towing vessel THOROUGHBRED, in which. onecrewmember died, Lieutenant Commander D'ORAZIO used tact and sensitivity interviewing the crew who had jlIst lost a fellow'ccewmem.bcc. His skillful and professional mvestigatic:m helped expediently d~c the primary causes fur the capsizing andgenerate important safety recommendations to prevent a recurrence, Lieutenant Commander D'ORAZIO's ~cation, judgment, anddevotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.

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