Colonel Rex Roebuck
March 7, 2025
Colonel Rex Roebuck’s remarkable 30-year career in the Coast Guard reflects his dedication to service and making a lasting impact. Serving 15 years as an enlisted member and another 15 years as a commissioned officer, Colonel Roebuck’s journey is marked by a variety of operations. His career highlights include Arctic and Antarctic missions, enforcing sanctions in the Persian Gulf, responding to oil spills, and conducting search and rescue operations. “The Coast Guard’s diverse missions allowed me to travel the world and engage in meaningful work,” he said. “It’s not just about defense; it’s about environmental protection, law enforcement, and so much more.”
Currently, he works as the lead IT Specialist at the Coast Guard Navigation Center in Alexandria, VA, where he serves as a data analyst and GIS mapping specialist. “I focus on mishap investigations such as collisions, groundings, and capsizes,” he explained. Using GIS technology, Colonel Roebuck overlays data including weather, tides, and currents to determine causes of maritime incidents. “We handled over 550 data requests in 2024 alone, averaging more than one a day.”
Colonel Roebuck is a passionate supporter of the Kentucky Colonels’ Good Works Program. “Individual donations are valuable, but when pooled together as a large group, the impact is immense.” Along with supporting the Kentucky Colonels, Colonel Roebuck supports Folds of Honor, which provides college tuition for children of fallen service members, and the Fisher House, which offers housing for families of injured military members receiving treatment. He also volunteers with Honor Flight, assisting veterans during their visits to national memorials in Washington D.C.
Colonel Roebuck described becoming a Kentucky Colonel as a significant honor and responsibility. Initially, he didn’t know who had nominated him. “I thought maybe it was one of my Coast Guard colleagues, but after digging, I found out it was my daughter.”
Despite living far from Kentucky, he remains connected to the organization. “I’ve attended both homecomings since becoming a Colonel in February 2023,” he shared. Colonel Roebuck values the camaraderie and connections he’s built through the Colonels, many of whom share his Coast Guard background.
