Commissioning Ceremony

John P. Coffey

General Counsel, Department of the Navy

John P. (“Sean”) Coffey was sworn into office on February 16, 2022, as the 24th General Counsel of the Department of the Navy. As General Counsel, Mr. Coffey is the Department of the Navy’s (DON) Chief Legal Officer and head of the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). He leads more than 1,100 attorneys and professional support staff in 140 offices worldwide. 

A native of New York, Mr. Coffey is an honors graduate of the United States Naval Academy and Georgetown University Law Center. After graduating from Annapolis, Mr. Coffey completed Naval Flight Officer training and served eight years on active duty, including assignments as a P-3C Orion mission commander hunting Soviet submarines during the Cold War, a junior officer intern to the Strategy Division in the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the special military assistant (personal aide) to Vice President George H.W. Bush. After graduating from Georgetown, Mr. Coffey transitioned to the Navy Reserve and returned to New York, where he practiced law for over thirty-five years

Mr. Coffey continued to serve in the Navy Reserve for eighteen years. Among other things, he flew anti-submarine missions in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, counter-narcotics missions in the Caribbean, and armed missions in support of the blockade of the former Yugoslavia.  Mr. Coffey was selected to serve as commanding officer of both a reserve P-3C squadron (VP-92) and the reserve component of the Enterprise carrier battle group staff (CCDG-12), and served as a staff officer  in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs).  Mr. Coffey retired at the rank of captain in 2004.

Full Bio

Alaura Gogue

Alaura Gogue enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January of 2009 as a Marine Musician (5524). Upon completing her entry level training, she was assigned to the 2^nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band, Cherry Point, North Carolina from 2009-2011. In April of 2011, GySgt Gogue reported to the Quantico Marine Corps Band at Headquarters and Service Battalion, Quantico, VA and served in multiple leadership positions as a flautist. In March of 2015, GySgt Gogue was transferred to Marine Corps Base Quantico Provost Marshal Office where she served as a Military Police Augment (PMO). After completing her time at PMO in July of 2015, GySgt Gogue assumed the position of Assistant Command Visits Coordinator for Marine Corps Base Quantico. 

In January of 2016, GySgt Gogue received orders to Marine Combat Instructor School East and shortly after had the opportunity to transfer to School of Infantry West Coast in support of the location opening training for female Marines for the first time in USMC history. It was during her time as a Combat Instructor that GySgt Gogue applied for the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Education Program. Once accepted, she applied and was accepted to the Columbia University School of General Studies in 2019.  She successfully completed her bachelor’s degree with the Major of Psychology in February 2023.

Alaura Gogue is currently married to Josstin Gogue and they have two incredible children Blaze and Ezra.