CDR Brian C. Laws

Commanding Officer, USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53)

11 July 2023 A native of Newport, Rhode Island, CDR Laws earned his commission in 2006 through the Navy ROTC program at the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

At sea, he served as Internal Communications Division Officer in USS Essex (LHD 2) in Sasebo, Japan; Fire Control Officer in USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) in Pearl Harbor, HI; Assistant Navigator and Executive Watch Officer in BNS Louise-Marie (F931) during a Personnel Exchange Program (PEP) tour in Belgium; Operations Officer in USS Sterett (DDG 104) in San Diego, CA; Operations Officer for COMDESRON 60 in Rota, Spain; Flag Secretary and N1 for Carrier Strike Group ELEVEN in Everett, WA. He served as Executive Officer onboard USS John Paul Jones before assuming command.

Ashore, he was a Maritime Warfare instructor in Surface Warfare Officer School (SWOS), in Newport, RI.

CDR Laws earned a Master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S Naval War College and a Master’s in International Relations from American University.