Rear Adm. 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.

His operational assignments include Carrier Air Wing Eleven, embarked on USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Kitty Hawk; Carrier Strike Group Twelve, embarked on USS Enterprise; and Carrier Strike Group Two, embarked on 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 has participated in Operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and numerous 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th Fleet actions.

His staff assignments include service at the Joint Special Operations Command; Fleet Cyber Command/Naval Space 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.

Rear Adm. 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.

As a Flag Officer, he served as the 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 the Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor Award for Leadership.

Last Updated: 8 January 2026