Station HYPO

Tomorrow, Captain Dom Lovello retires after 38 years of service.  A highly respected Naval Officer, Captain Lovello served our great nation and Navy with honor and distinction as and a Cryptologic Warfare Officer.  Enlisting in the Navy as an E-1, Dom Lovello advanced to Chief Petty Officer, received an officer commission through the Limited Duty Officer program and finally lateral transferred to Special Duty Officer (Cryptologic Warfare), achieving the rank of Captain!  Captain Lovello’s biography, command achievements and End of Tour award follow:

Captain Dom Lovello, USN
Commanding Officer
Navy Information Operations Command Georgia
Commander Task Force-1050

A native of Buffalo, New York, CAPT Lovello enlisted in the Navy in 1984 and served aboard surface ships, aircraft, and submarines in Virginia, Japan, and Hawaii.  He was selected for Chief Petty Officer in 1995 and promoted to Limited Duty Officer Ensign in 1997.

His first tour after commissioning was as the Electronic Warfare Officer aboard USS CHANCELLORSVILLE (CG-62) from 1998-2000.  While aboard, he qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and completed deployments across the western Pacific and to the Arabian Gulf.

From 2000-2002, he served as the Fleet Support Officer at the Navy Information Operations Command in Misawa, Japan.  While there, he qualified as an airborne Special Evaluator and NATOPS Instructor.

In 2002, he took charge of the Navy Information Operations Detachment at Kaneohe Bay.  His det provided airborne direct support to units deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines during Operations ENDURING and IRAQI FREEDOM.

CAPT Lovello transferred to the Navy Personnel Command in 2005 where he served as a Cryptologic Warfare Officer detailer and assistant community manager.  He departed Tennessee in 2007 to attend the Naval Command and Staff College in Newport, RI.

Upon graduation from the War College, he was assigned to U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida where he completed deployments to Afghanistan and Qatar in support of the staff’s forward operations.

In the spring of 2012, CAPT Lovello went back to Japan for a fifth tour to serve as the Deputy Information Warfare Commander and Senior Watch Officer on the staff of Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN in Okinawa.  He embarked in USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC-19) for staff certifications in Yokosuka, Japan and USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD-6) for operations in the western Pacific.

He was selected for command in 2013 and was the CO of NIOC Whidbey Island, Washington from 2014 until 2016.  While there, he was privileged to serve with a crew that won two Association of Old Crows Unit Awards, the TENTH Fleet Golden Anchor, and the N AS Whidbey Island Captain’s Cup.

His most recent tours before returning to NIOC Georgia to take command were as a Combat Mission Team Leader for the Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon and as the Information Operations Director for Naval Forces Europe, Naval Forces Africa, and U.S. SIXTH Fleet in Naples, Italy.

CAPT Lovello’s personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, nine Navy Commendation Medals, three Navy Achievement Medals, and various campaign and unit awards.

---

Captain Lovello demonstrated exceptionally meritorious leadership and professional expertise throughout a demanding tour as Commander, Task Force 1050 (TF 1050) and Commanding Officer (CO), Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Georgia from August 2020 TO October 2022.  He aggressively guided more than 1,800 Active Duty and Reserve Sailors in a dynamic and critical mission.  His leadership affected the successful deployment of Cryptologic direct Support element (CDSE) Sailors on air, surface and submarine platform to numerous countries, which lead to astounding and repeated successes under extraordinary intense operational and administrative pressures in support of operations spanning multiple areas of responsibility (AOR).  His tireless efforts were instrumental in astounding mission success, high morale, and superior equality of life or Sailors.  Some specific accomplishments include:

• His leadership routinely set the standard as a model CO for a major Information Warfare (IW) Community command, a Chief of Naval Operations sponsored detachment, and eight operationally aligned Navy Reserve commands.  Leading over 1,500 Active duty Sailors that included 95 officers, 105 Chief Petty Officers, and 24 civilians deployed to more than 126 air, surface, and submarine platform in support of (ISO) critical U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM, U.S. European Command (EUCOM), and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) intelligence requirements. 

• CAPT Lovello demonstrated extraordinary leadership during the Coronavirus (COVID) pandemic while maintaining and exceptionally high command morale.  He overcame the challenges presented by the pandemic by directing the establishment of the command’s COVID Response Cell, fusing efforts of the command’s medical staff, contact tracer, and the command’s emergency Operations Center Team in order to synchronize reporting requirement to higher headquarters and maintain health and safety of the workforce during the COVID pandemic.

• He supported first-of-their-kind Distributed Operations that worked in concert to meet strategic and fleet tactical reporting requirements.  His TF 1050 Battle Watch provided continuous (24/7) back-end support to national, joint, service, and coalition commander operating in the CENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR). Sailors delivered critical Indications & Warning reporting to over 285 coalition vessel operating in this AOR.

• His CDSE conducted Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) flights ISO CENTCOM, EUCOM, and AFRICOM operational requirements:  Sailors accrued over 27,909 flight hours and issued more than 12,500 tactical reports.  During the Ukraine-Russia conflict, his Sailors directly supported theater commander collection efforts with the establishment of first-of-their-kind flight tracks.  Furthermore, during the non-combatant evacuation operations in Afghanistan, 10 linguists directly supported the safe departure of American forces from theater involvement.  Surface CDSE deployed aboard 34 U.S. warships, resulting in more than 4,000 deployed man-days and over 162,650 tactical reports ISO theater operational requirements. Subsurface CDSE amassed 12,500 deployed man-days on 48 combatants, conducting national and U.S. Navy ISR ISO theater operational requirements.  Special Warfare CDSE delivered the decision advantage to the warfighter through embedded linguistics and analysts ISO Operation INHERENT RESOLVE and Intelligence Preparation of the Environment for future operations.

• His linguists accounted for roughly one-third of the linguist inventory in the IW domain with documented proficiency in 23 different languages and 58 percent qualified in two or more languages or dialects. Overall, the linguists supported Operations SENTINEL, SENTRY, ODYSSEY RESOLVE, ALLIED REFUGE, and INHERENT RESOLVE; Maritime Security Operations; and overseas contingency operations.
  
• His Cryptologic Analyst Support Element enhanced “Fleet Centricity” by providing in-depth analysis of 28 RFIs levied against US.S. Naval Forces Central Command Priority Intelligence requirement, aligning TF 1050 long-term analysis against most challenging problems.  Analysis enhanced afloat commanders’ ability to conduct Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare and maintain heightened situation awareness in the hostile maritime environments.

• His 107 Combat Mission Team drove operational requirements that supported two named operations in CENTOM.  Several Title 10 operations were performed under his watch that developed tactics, techniques, and procedures.

Congratulations Skipper on a truly remarkable career! We wish you and your family the very best in the next chapter. Fair Winds and Following Seas.

Very Respectfully,

Station HYPO