Brandon J. Burkett

Commanding Officer, USS Mobile Bay (CG 53)

26 May 2022 Captain Burkett, a native of Evansdale, Iowa, attended Iowa State University on an NROTC scholarship earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1999.
 
Afloat, Captain Burkett completed two division officer tours as Strike Warfare Officer and Navigator from November 1999 to October 2002 in USS PHILIPPINE SEA (CG 58).  As a Department Head, he served as Weapons Officer in USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52) from September 2006 to September 2007.  He was then selected for Individual Augmentation as Operations Officer for CTG 515.1 onboard USNS FRED W. STOCKHAM (TAK 3017) participating in the war on terrorism in the Philippines from October 2007 to April 2008.  Upon his return to USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52) he served as Combat Systems Officer and Selected Restricted Availability coordinator completing the first ever Cruiser Modernization from April 2008 to July 2009.  Following command selection, he served as the Executive Officer of USS WILLIAM P. LAWRENCE (DDG 110) from May 2015 to August 2016.  His most recent sea tour, was the Commanding Officer of USS WILLIAM P. LAWRENCE (DDG 110) from September 2016 to May 2018.  Following his Major Command pipeline he reported in May 2022 as the Commanding Officer of USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53).
 
Ashore, Captain Burkett earned a Masters of Engineering at the University of Nebraska while serving as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science from October 2002 to December 2005. Following his Department Head tours, he served as Deputy Executive Assistant to Commander, U.S. THIRD Fleet from August 2009 to January 2012.  He then served in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied Joint Force Command Naples Headquarters in Naples, Italy from March 2012 to Jul 2014 as an Exercise Planner for the NATO Response Force.  After his first command tour, he served as the Executive Assistant to Commander, U.S. THIRD Fleet from May 2018 to August 2020 and most recently was assigned to Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Warfighting Readiness (N9) and Task Force LCS Lead.
 
Captain Burkett’s personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, the Joint Commendation Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with three gold stars, and the Navy Achievement Medal amongst other service and campaign awards.