CDR Kelly Craft

Past Commanding Officer, USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120)

13 September 2021 A surface warfare officer, Cmdr. Kelly Craft is from Keystone Heights, Florida, and a 2005 graduate of Jacksonville University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and his commission in the U.S. Navy through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. In 2012, he earned a Master of Business Administration from Jacksonville University and in 2013 a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, along with completion of the Joint Professional Military Education Phase I. He completed a Master’s of Systems Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School’s distance learning program in 2019.

At sea, Craft completed his division officer tours on USS Princeton (CG 59), as the anti-submarine warfare officer and communications officer deploying twice to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom, and on USS Boone (FFG 28) as the training officer completing a counter narco-terrorism deployment in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific. His department head tours were on USS Pinckney (DDG 91) as the weapons officer and combat systems officer completing an independent deployment to the Western Pacific. He most recently completed a tour as executive officer of USS Russell (DDG 59) completing two deployments to U.S. 7th Fleet. He currently serves as the commanding officer of PCU Carl M. Levin (DDG 120).

Ashore, Craft served at the Joint Task Force in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a joint operations center watch officer before transferring to Jacksonville University’s NROTC Unit teaching navigation and naval operations while serving as the senior class advisor, commissioning coordinator, and surface warfare officer society leader. Following his department head tours, he served for one year at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet in future operations as the lead for surface operations and fleet scheduling in Manama, Bahrain. Reporting to Washington D.C., he served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Assessment Division for two years as the surface warfare and integrated air and missile defense analyst in the Sea Power Branch.

His military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (six), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two), the Junior Officer Award for Tactics Excellence, along with various other unit and campaign awards.