Tomorrow Captain Eduardo Salazar will be relieved by Commander Jeff Burke as the Commanding Officer, Navy Information Operations Command Pensacola.   Captain Salazar’s biography follows:

Captain Eduardo Salazar, USN
Commanding Officer
Navy Information Operations Command Pensacola

Captain Eduardo “Eddie” Salazar was born in Scottsbluff, NE.  He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in History.  Immediately following commissioning, he began flight training and was designated a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) in August 2000.  He subsequently reported to his first aviation sea tour with Patrol Squadron Twenty-Six (VP-26) in NAS Brunswick, ME qualifying as a P-3C Tactical Coordinator. He served in several aviation sea and shore duty assignments until he was selected for lateral transfer into the Crytologic Warfare community in 2011.

Captain Salazar’s operational tours include Patrol Squadron Twenty Six (VP-26), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) as catapult and arresting gear officer, an Individual Augmentee tour as an airborne sensor operator in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and COMSEVENTHFLT (C7F), Yokosuka Japan, as the Fleet Cryptologist.

His shore duty assignments include 562nd Flying Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, TX for duty as an instructor NFO, Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Center of Excellence, Creech AFB, NV  as deputy UAS CONOPS branch chief, NIOC Maryland as both NSA Signals Intelligence Directorate Branch Chief and Department Head, and COMTENTHFLT(C10F) /FLTCYBERCOM as an offensive cyber operations planner, overseeing the build of over 20 cyber mission teams in support of USSOUTHCOM and USPACOM. He assumed command of NIOC Pensacola in July 2018.

Captain Salazar is a 2016 graduate of the National Defense University’s Dwight D. Eisenhower School, earning his JPME II and Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy.  He is designated a Joint Qualified Officer (JQO).  He has accumulated over 2800 flight hours in T-34C, T-43A, P-3C, and special operations aircraft.  His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (1 gold star), Air Medal (five Strike/Flight), and Joint Service, Navy and Marine Corps (1 gold star), and Air Force Commendation Medals.  He is married to the former Karen Coats of Gonzales, Louisiana and they have three children.

Congratulations skipper on a successful command tour!