CAPT Wil Fensterer

Commanding Officer, USS PORTLAND (LPD 27)

09 January 2026 Captain Fensterer, a native of Watertown, New York, was commissioned in May 2003 after completing the NROTC program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Following commissioning, he was accepted into the Immediate Graduate Education Program at the Naval Postgraduate School and earned a M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a 2023 graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School.

Afloat, CAPT Fensterer completed his first Division Officer tour aboard USS MILIUS (DDG 69) as the Electrical and Auxiliaries Officer. During his tour, he deployed to 5th Fleet with the BONHOMME RICHARD Expeditionary Strike Group. His second Division Officer tour was as Officer in Charge of Inshore Boat Unit FIVE THREE and Maritime Expeditionary Boat Detachment THREE FOUR ONE deploying to Camp Patriot, Kuwait. As a Department Head, he reported to USS MICHAEL MURPHY (DDG 112) as the commissioning Weapons Officer sailing her from Bath, Maine to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and fleeted up as the Combat Systems Officer for the ship’s maiden deployment to 7th Fleet. As Executive Officer on USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53), he completed an around the world deployment with JOHN C. STENNIS Carrier Strike Group. He commanded USS HARPERS FERRY (LSD 49) and assumed command of USS PORTLAND (LPD 27) in January 2026.

Ashore, CAPT Fensterer served as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science at NROTC Unit - University of Notre Dame, Placement Officer for Atlantic Cruisers and Destroyers at PERS-41, on the personal staff of the Secretary of the Navy as the Director, SECNAV White House and Congressional Liaison Office, Surface Warfare Officer Community Manager at BUPERS-3, and Senior Military Advisor at the U.S. State Department.

His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (five awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit awards.