Who is the originator of directives?

• A. COMDT - the originator
• B. Area commanders
• C. Commanders of maintenance and Logistics commands
• D. Commanding Officer and Officer in Charge

Answer: (A)

Directives are policy and instruction documents that guide how the service operates, and the person who creates and issues these directives across the entire Coast Guard is the Commandant (COMDT). The Commandant sets overarching policy and command-wide directives that apply to all units. Area commanders and the commanders of maintenance and logistics commands operate within their assigned scope, issuing directives that apply to their commands and implementing higher directives, but they do not originate directives for the whole service. Likewise, a Commanding Officer or Officer in Charge issues orders at their specific unit in line with higher directives, not as the source of service-wide policy. So the originator of directives is COMDT.