Rear Adm. David Goggins is a native of Los Angeles. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering and Material Science Engineering. His graduate education includes a Master’s of Science in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Goggins’ career in the Navy began as a submariner aboard USS Tecumseh (SSBN 628) where he served as an electrical officer, reactor controls assistant and assistant operations officer. He was then selected for lateral transfer to the engineering duty officer community and reported to the supervisor of shipbuilding, conversion and repair (SUPSHIP) in Groton, Connecticut. At this command he was the lead ship coordinator for PCU Connecticut (SSN 22) from initial hull erect to the initial stages of post-shakedown availability planning.

Subsequent shore duty tours included serving as the assistant repair officer at Naval Submarine Support Facility in New London, Connecticut; Seawolf Class project officer and program manager’s representative at SUPSHIP Groton; Ohio-class guided-missile submarines (SSGN) Conversion project officer and program manager’s representative at SUPSHIP Groton; Virginia Class assistant program manager for new construction within Program Executive Officer for Submarines; and a staff assignment within the Office of Chief of Naval Operations, Undersea Warfare Division (N97).

Goggins also served as an individual augmentee participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in Iraq, he supported the military’s counter-IED effort and was responsible for fielding over 3,000 mission critical systems to counter the rapidly evolving IED threat.

Goggins became major program manager of the Virginia Class Program Office in 2012. Under his leadership and guidance, the Virginia Program delivered three submarines to the fleet, started the initial design work on the Virginia Payload Module and Acoustic Superiority and won the Department of Defense Value Engineering Award and the David A. Packard Award for Acquisition Excellence. Goggins was named program manager of a second Major Defense Acquisition Program, the Ohio Replacement Program, in June 2015, now known as the Columbia Class Program.

His awards include the Legion of Merit (with one gold star), the Meritorious Service Medal (with two gold stars), the Navy Commendation Medal (with two gold stars) and the Navy Achievement Medal (with two gold stars).