Zeita Merchant is the current Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Personnel Service Center.

She is the first female African-American to be appointed rear admiral lower half in Coast Guard history.

[citation needed] She is the first female African-American to be appointed rear admiral lower half in Coast Guard history.

[4] On Veterans Day in 2021, Merchant received a Women in Service award from the American Red Cross.

[5] One of Merchant's role models and mentors was Dr Olivia Hooker, who was the first African American woman to join the U.S. Coast Guard.