Deputy Superintendent, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

Rear Admiral (Lower Half) David S. Ostwind serves as Deputy Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, where he oversees day-to-day operations and supports the Academy's mission of educating and preparing midshipmen for leadership and service to the Nation.

A career civil servant and member of the Senior Executive Service, RDML Ostwind most recently served as Director of the Planning and Exercise Division within the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Response Directorate. In that role, he led national planning, exercise, and geospatial information initiatives to strengthen federal preparedness and response capabilities. Earlier in his federal career, he served as a Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness Officer with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and later as a Program Manager within the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, leading efforts to prevent the trafficking and use of radiological and nuclear materials.

RDML Ostwind is a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve. During his active-duty service, he deployed aboard USS Mitscher (DDG 57) in support of Operation Southern Watch and maritime interdiction operations in the Arabian Gulf, and aboard USS Fife (DD 991) in support of UNITAS and counternarcotics operations in Central and South America. From 2008 to 2009, he was recalled to active duty and deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, as a member of an Afghan National Army Embedded Training Team in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Throughout his military career, he has held numerous leadership positions supporting the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technical Division, Military Sealift Command, NATO Supreme Allied Command Transformation, and Commander Naval Surface Forces Atlantic. He twice commanded reserve units supporting Commander Naval Surface Forces Atlantic and later served as Deputy Commodore of Navy Reserve Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two, where he led more than 550 Sailors across 14 units supporting eight Littoral Combat Ships. Most recently, he served as Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval War College Support Unit.

A longtime educator and academic leader, RDML Ostwind served on the faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy as a Seamanship and Navigation Instructor and later as a Master Instructor in the Political Science Department, teaching courses in U.S. Government, Homeland Security, and Weapons of Mass Destruction. He also served as Associate Chair of the Political Science Department, Senior Academic Advisor, and Interim Director of the Academy's International Programs Office.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, RDML Ostwind earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, master's degrees from Harvard University, The George Washington University, and the U.S. Naval War College, and a Ph.D. in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island.

RDML Ostwind and his wife, Megan, are the proud parents of two children.