RDML Joshua Himes, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, graduated and was commissioned in 1993 from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomatic History. He subsequently graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Systems Technology from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2001.

Fleet assignments include Carrier Air Wing Eleven, embarked in USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Kitty Hawk; Carrier Strike Group Twelve, embarked in USS Enterprise; and Carrier Strike Group Two, embarked in USS George H. W. Bush, where he served as the Flag Intelligence Officer on its maiden deployment in 2011. He returned to Carrier Strike Group Twelve as the Information Warfare Commander, preparing USS Gerald R. Ford for its maiden deployment. He also served as the Chief of Staff for Fleet Cyber Command/Naval Space Command. He has participated in Operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and numerous 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th Fleet actions.

Shore assignments include service at the Joint Special Operations Command; the Joint Staff; the USINDOPACOM, USEUCOM and USJFCOM Joint Intelligence Centers; the Combined Air Operations Center in Vicenza during Operation Allied Force; ISAF Joint Command in Kabul; Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain; and as a Federal Executive Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C.

RDML Himes has commanded the multinational Southern Region Joint Operational Intelligence Cell in Naples, Italy; the Defense Intelligence Agency Navy Element in Washington D.C.; and the Joint Intelligence Center, USCENTCOM, in Tampa, Florida.

His prior flag assignment was as Vice Director for Intelligence on the Joint Staff.

In addition to numerous personal and unit awards, he is the recipient of the Admiral B.R. Inman Award for Intelligence from the Naval Postgraduate School, the Rear Admiral Edwin T. Layton Leadership Award, the Military Intelligence Corps’ Knowlton Award, and twice awarded the Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor Award for Leadership.

Last Updated: 6 August 2025