CDR David W. Dry Commanding Officer
A native of St. Louis, MO, Commander Dry graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and commissioned through the NROTC program.
Afloat assignments include Damage Control Assistant and Strike Warfare Officer in USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (CG 71), where he completed a Sixth Fleet deployment with EISENHOWER CARRIER STRIKE GROUP to the Mediterranean participating in Operations Sharp Guard and Deny Flight enforcing United Nations sanctions over Bosnia, completed two Counter-Narcotics deployments to SOUTHERN COMMAND, one U.S. Exercise Baltic Operations deployment in support of NATO operations, several All-Service Combat Identification and Evaluation Team (ASCIET) exercises, and Exercise Mountain Top, a major developmental test of the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). In 1995, Cape St. George was selected as the USS ARIZONA Memorial Trophy Award winner. Follow-on assignments include Surface Operations Officer, COMMANDER CARRIER STRIKE GROUP TWELVE (CCSG 12) embarked in USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) while deployed to SIXTH and FIFTH Fleets that included combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom immediately after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. He was then assigned to USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68) as Chief Engineer, where he again deployed to the Arabian Gulf and conducted operations as part of Commander, Task Force (CTF) 150 in support of coalition efforts in the Global War on Terrorism. His follow-on department head assignment was as Chief Engineer in USS VALLEY FORGE (CG 50) where he completed a third Counter-Narcotic Terrorism Operations deployment to Central and South America and served as a member of Valley Forge’s decommissioning crew. He was then assigned to USS O’BRIEN (DD 965) in San Diego as O’Brien’s decommissioning Executive Officer and Chief Engineer. He served as Executive Officer in USS BENFOLD (DDG 65) and completed his third Middle East deployment with PELELIU EXPEDITIONARY STRIKE GROUP, conducting Arabian Gulf maritime interdiction operations in support of CTFs 50, 58 and 152 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as anti-piracy operations in the western North Arabian Sea.
Ashore, Commander Dry graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, with a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering, served as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations, Commander, Naval Surface Forces, graduated from the Naval War College in Newport, RI, with a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies, and most recently was forward deployed to Iraq for a Global War on Terrorism Support Assignment to United States Forces-Iraq Joint headquarters in Baghdad, where he served as Deputy Director, J35 Training Division and Stability Academy in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.