Capt. Ryan O’Loughlin
Commanding Officer, USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81)
28 July 2023
CAPT O’Loughlin is a native of Jackson, Missouri and a 2000 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He received his Commission through the NROTC Program. He also earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the Naval Postgraduate School.
O’Loughlin’s initial sea tours included USS O’Kane (DDG 77) as Damage Control Assistant and USS Russell (DDG 59) as Fire Control Officer. He served as Operations Officer in USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) and USS Monterey (CG 61), making her maiden Ballistic Missile Defense deployment. He was the Executive Officer of and commanded USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) where he was awarded the 2019 Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership. While commanding Forrest Sherman, his crew earned the Battle “E.” He has deployed to Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Fleets, including operations in the Arctic Circle.
Ashore, Captain O’Loughlin most recently served as Division Chief, Western Europe & Balkans, Joint Staff J5 Strategy, Plans and Policy Deputy Directorate for Europe-NATO-Russia. He also served as Assistant Surface Warfare Officer Community Manager and as Washington, D.C. Placement Branch Head at Navy Personnel Command, lead Anti-Submarine Warfare instructor at Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, Rhode Island, and as a Strike Group Anti-Submarine Warfare Trainer/Assessor at the Undersea Warfighting Development Center, Norfolk Detachment.