Joseph Francis Farley (22 June 1889 – 25 November 1974) served as the ninth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1946 to 1949.

Farley's serious demeanor and habit of smoking a pipe as a cadet earned him the nickname of "Uncle Joe" at the school and he was known by that name for the rest of his career.

His next assignment was USRC Seminole which patrolled the Caribbean enforcing neutrality laws prior to the United States involvement in World War I.

[1] Yamacraw sailed for Europe in August 1917 and assumed convoy escort duties in the Mediterranean Sea as well as between Gibraltar and Great Britain.

[3] After the end of World War I Yamacraw returned to normal patrol duties homeported out of Savannah, Georgia and Farley transferred in March 1919 to accounting officer responsibilities in New York City.

Farley was promoted to lieutenant 12 January 1923 and assigned to USCGC Mojave homeported at Honolulu, Hawaii where he remained until February 1925.

[6] Farley returned to Coast Guard Headquarters in March 1937 and was assigned duties as chief communications officer.

He was nominated by President Harry S. Truman and confirmed by the Senate to be Commandant of the Coast Guard succeeding Admiral Russell R. Waesche.

[1] Because Farley had been assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters in a senior position in both operations and personnel, Admiral Waesche suggested him as a candidate to succeed him as Commandant.

[8] With increased the responsibilities acquired during the war and a reduced number of personnel available, some missions had to be cut back severely or almost eliminated.

The report listed 193 recommendations for improving operations, some of which could be handled internally within the Coast Guard or the Treasury Department.

This resulted in Congress recognizing the need for the Coast Guard to have statutory authority for the many missions it had accumulated during the war years.

[12] In 1946 the International Ice Patrol was re-instituted after being suspended during the war years and additional cutters and aircraft had to be reserved for this mission.

Farley and Treasury Secretary Snyder pointed out that the Coast Guard was interested in aviation used for search and rescue but didn't have the funds to expand the service.

The chains of LORAN stations maintained by the Coast Guard were modernized and utilized by both aircraft and ships for navigation purposes.

The Queen was a flying boat that was caught in gale-force winds that caused her to increase fuel consumption and as a result she could not reach her destination.