CDR James McLaughlin

COMMANDING OFFICER, USS CANBERRA (LCS 30) BLUE CREW

02 October 2025 Originally from Clovis, California, Commander McLaughlin is a 2008 Graduate of The California Maritime Academy with a Bachelor of Marine Engineering Technology and an MBA in Finance.

His sea tours include USS MUSTIN (DDG 89) as First Lieutenant, USS CORONADO (LCS 4) as Electronic Material Officer, USS O’KANE (DDG 77) as Chief Engineer and later as the Combat Systems Officer, Destroyer Squadron SEVEN as N4 and N6, and USS OMAHA (LCS-12) Gold Crew as Executive Officer.

His shore tours include instructor duty at Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Naval Surface and Mine Warfare Development Center, where he served as a lead planner for Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training exercises.

CDR McLaughlin is a Surface and Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapons and Tactics Instructor with extensive experience in the 7th Fleet area of operations.

He is currently serving as Commanding Officer aboard USS CANBERRA (LCS 30) Blue Crew.

His awards include the Navy Commendation Medal (4), Navy Achievement Medal (3), and various other personal, unit, and service awards.