Charley L. Diaz  Captain Charley L. Diaz (born in 1959 in Corpus Christi, Texas) is a 30-year United States Coast Guard veteran who served on Active Duty from 1982 to 2012. Diaz is best known for leading the crew of the USCGC "Sherman" (WHEC-720) in the seizure of the Panamanian freighter "GATUN" off the coast of Panama in March 2007, which netted nearly 20 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $600 million. It was the largest maritime drug bust in US history. On July 21, 2005, Diaz became the first American of Hispanic descent to command a High endurance cutter (the U.S. Coast Guard’s largest cutter class). From 2008 until his retirement, Diaz was named one of the "Top Hispanics in the U.S. Military" by Hispanic Engineer & IT magazine. He officially retired from the U.S. Coast Guard on June 30, 2012. Diaz is an independent Homeland Security consultant in the greater Washington, D.C. area and President of Diaz and Associates, Maritime Consultants (a Maryland company). Diaz was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and is a 1978 graduate of Mary Carroll High School. Diaz is the son of Dr. Tony C. Diaz, Ed.D. and Mrs. Maria Albeza (Barrera) Diaz. His father is a retired U.S. Navy Chief, a Vietnam War veteran, and an elected School Board Member of the Corpus Christi Independent School District. Well established in the Corpus Christi area since the early 1900s, the Diaz family has been educating the children of South Texas for the past 50 years. In 1982, Diaz graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, where he was captain of the cadet drill team. He holds a master's degree in Public Administration (with honors) from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a diploma (with distinction) from the U.S. Naval War College. He also completed the Department of Homeland Security “Executive Leaders Program” in 2012 at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Diaz was a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. from 2004 to 2005. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City  and also a life member of the Association of Naval Services Officers, a national Hispanic affinity group. On March 18, 2007, Diaz led the crew of the USCGC "Sherman" in the seizure of the motor vessel "GATUN" with 765 bales of cocaine (nearly 20 tons) worth an estimated $600 million; it remains the largest maritime drug bust in U.S. history.