Mr. Alden was raised in the small town of Milton-Freewater, Oregon just 11 miles south west of Walla Walla, Washington. He joined the United States Coast Guard in 1984 at the age of 17 planning to serve a four year tour and pursue other opportunities. 28 years later, he retired from the Coast Guard on 01 October 2025 while serving his final assignment as the first active duty Operations Officer of Maritime Force Protection Unit Bangor.
During his final tour at Bangor, WA he was instrumental in the transition of the Maritime Force Protection Unit from initial reserve staffing to a full active duty complement of over 140 personnel, 12 small boats and 2 coastal patrol boats and he effectively managed the safe escort of more than 480 ballistic missile submarine missions vital to our national security.
His experiences in United States Coast Guard were many including mission areas such as maritime force protection, escort tactics, law enforcement, search and rescue, training, and shipboard and land-based operations. He had the privilege of working with Department of Homeland Security, Environmental Protection Agency, Tribal Nations, Department of transportation, DoD (Navy, Army, Marines) units, and the militaries of 14 other countries. He had the greatest privilege of serving onboard the following Coast Guard Cutters: USCGC RUSH, USCGC SHERMAN, USCGC BEAR, USCGC NORTHLAND, and as Executive Officer of the USCGC ANACAPA successfully serving over 12 years at sea.
His extensive experience in drug and migrant interdiction and fisheries patrols resulted in the seizure of over 6 tons of cocaine, 1,200 lbs of marijuana, the terminations of 12 fishing vessels for a variety of safety and fisheries law violations, and the repatriation of 628 migrants. He has been married to the former Anne Antrim of Phoenix, AZ for the last 23 years.
Christopher is a former chief of security for the Port of Miami, and captain with the Miami-Dade, Fla., Police Department. He has developed vulnerability assessment training programs for the U.S. Maritime Administration and Organization of American States; and security awareness and credentialing training courses for the National Terrorism Prevention Institute. He authored the 2009 book, Port Security Management, providing practical guidance for managing, planning and coordinating port facility security, and is a certified protection professional by ASIS International.
