Fort Bend County Judge KP George April 17 announced Greg Babst to serve as the new manager of the county’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HS&EM), effective immediately.

Babst, who has been with the office for over two years, served as deputy manager before being named as the office’s interim manager in January. In his new role, Babst will oversee all aspects of the county’s planning for, response to, and recovery from emergencies, and disasters.

“Greg has a wealth of experience and an enthusiastic outlook for the safety of residents and businesses in our county along with the ability to engage with our internal departments, the public, private sector partners, local, state, and federal agencies,” George said.

Babst began working with the office in 2021, first as an emergency management specialist and training position. He was later promoted to assistant deputy manager. He has worked with multiple local, state, and federal partners to help the county plan for and respond to disaster declarations and various emergencies within the county.

Prior to joining the office, Babst served 24 years in the United States Coast Guard (USCG), where he served as chief warrant officer, as well as being a surf and rescue boat coxswain, federal law enforcement officer, tactical deployment team lead, a member of the Maritime Security Response Team West, and part of the National Incident Management Deployment Team.

Additionally, Babst is a U.S. Coast Guard training officer and has experience in law enforcement, HAZMAT, first aid, high-risk training, weapons, tactical elements, and small boat operations in all types of weather. He has acquired an estimated 15,600 hours of training hours as a lead instructor, earned 80 hours as a U.S. Coast Guard-certified instructor, and served as a USCG first responder in over 1,000 cases in the maritime realm as the on-scene coordinator for various types of cases (searches, capsizes, sinking, EMS, fire, law enforcement, active shooter, terrorism, bombings, hostage, protests and cartel drug seizures).

“I’m excited about this new role, and I look forward to continuing to build this response team,” Babst said. “I want to thank all the department heads in the county for their support and our first responders, EMS, the sheriff’s office and fire marshal’s office, ESDs, the leadership, and all the stakeholders within the county who have supported us as we have built-out this response team. My goal is to be a value and responsive proactive multiplier for all coordination during all hazards in this county.”