Coast Guard Auxiliary District Chiefs of Staff (DCOS) and District Captains (DCAPT) are elected on a yearly basis through a vote of District Board Members. One DCOS is elected for each of the Coast Guard’s sixteen districts/regions and serves as second to the District Commodore (DCO), supervising District Staff Officers (DSOs) and District Directorate Chiefs (DDCs) and overseeing district/regional Auxiliary programs. Fourteen of the sixteen districts are required to have at least two DCAPTs (the districts for Alaska and Hawaii are allowed to have one); DCAPTs supervise Division Commanders (DCDR) and Auxiliary Sector Coordinators (ASC) and report to the DCO.
The spread eagle that serves as the insignia of office for DSOS and DCAPTs is the collar device worn on the Winter Dress Blue, Undress Blue—Winter, and Undress short-sleeve shirts; embroidered devices are worn with the Operational Duty Uniform and the Jump Suit. It is oriented on the collar so that the eagle is facing forward and the entire device is centered verticall between the bottom and top edges of the collar, then positioned so the leading wing tip is an inch from the collar’s inner edge.