Capt. Michael D. Brasseur
Captain, United States Navy
30 November 2020
A native of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Capt. Michael D. Brasseur graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1997 with degrees in Chemistry and Secondary Education. He was commissioned through the Naval R.O.T.C. program in May of 1997.
Brasseur is the Deputy Commodore of Destroyer Squadron 50. Prior to joining DESRON 50, Brasseur served as Director, Naval Armaments Cooperation for the U.S. Mission to NATO. While at NATO, he co-founded and served as the first Director of NATO’s “Start-up” the Maritime Unmanned Systems Innovation & Coordination Cell (MUSIC
2). MUSIC
2 is the key integrator and accelerator for the NATO MUS Initiative focused on enhancing the Alliance’s capabilities through manned/unmanned teaming.
At sea, Brasseur commanded both USS Freedom (LCS 1) and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), sailing Fort Worth home to San Diego from her maiden deployment to Southeast Asia. As a Lt., he commanded USS Whirlwind (PC 11) forward deployed to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Additionally, he has served as Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer in USS Deyo (DD 989); Weapons and Executive Officer in USS Shamal (PC 13); Operations Officer in USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) and Executive Officer in USS Underwood (FFG 36).
Ashore, Brasseur served as the Director for Tactics and Doctrine Development (N5) at the Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC), Sea Combat Division in San Diego, CA. He also served as a Battle Watch Captain at NAVCENT in Bahrain. As a Lt., Brasseur served at Deep Blue and the White House Homeland Security Council in Washington, D.C.
He holds a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Management from the George Washington University and a Global Master of Arts in International Relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Michael is fluent in Spanish, having attended the Defense Language Institute prior to completing the Command and Staff Course at the Argentine Naval War College in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Brasseur’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (2 gold stars), Navy Commendation Medal (3 gold stars), Navy Achievement Medal (1 gold star), and various unit and service awards.