Detlef de Otte was born at sea on a ship his father captained, while it was docked in Buenos Aires. He enlisted in the Revenue Cutter Service in 1886 and was discharged in 1988. He became an American citizen that year, and returned to Service in the Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction in 1889 and received his commission in 1891. He retired as a U.S. Coast Guard Commodore in 1941. He was meritoriously promoted to Rear Admiral in 1937.