This week on the One O‘ahu Podcast, Kurt Lager, Chief of the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department (HOSD), joins host Brandi Higa, to talk about becoming the department’s first chief, his vision for the department, and plans to support and retain his personnel by positioning ocean safety as a sustainable, long-term career path.
First Chief of the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department
The five-member Honolulu Ocean Safety Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 19, 2025, to select Kurt Lager, a 20-year veteran of Honolulu Ocean Safety, as the first commission-appointed Chief of Ocean Safety in the department’s history.
“It’s just really gratifying and humbling. I’ve used those words before but to me it’s just kind of a lifetime goal,” reacted Chief Lager.
Lager, whose candidacy as a finalist was supported by Mayor Rick Blangiardi, had been serving as the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department’s appointed director since July 2024.
Vision for HOSD
On Jan. 16, 2026, Mayor Blangiardi announced the promotion of veteran ocean safety leader Benjamin “Jimmy” Barros as the first-ever Deputy Chief of the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department. Together with Chief Lager, Deputy Chief Barros will oversee daily operations, strategic planning, communications, and training initiatives.
As Chief Lager explains, one of the priorities they have moving forward is staffing and taking care of the people that work for the department. “It’s really important that we are supplying them with the resources that they need to do their jobs effectively,” added Lager.
Currently, HOSD staffs 43 towers around Oʻahu and patrols with trucks, jet skis, UTVs, and ATVs to keep Oʻahu residents and visitors safe in some of the most dangerous beach conditions on the planet.
Ocean Safety, a sustainable, long-term career
Each year, the department bids farewell to talented men and women who go on to serve with the Honolulu Fire Department and other first responder agencies. This is a trend Chief Lager is trying to change.
“I’m really excited to work with Jimmy and one of our big priorities when it comes to supporting our staff is to create a better career path or try to create opportunity to increase wages.” He goes on to say he wants ocean safety to be a job that his personnel can stay in without being forced to get a second job or consider a career change just to make ends meet.
To learn more about the HOSD, including job opportunities, please visit https://www.honolulu.gov/hosd/
