Captain W. Anthony Youngblood, USSF
Branch Chief, Rest-of-World (ROW) Space and Counterspace, S2A  

Biography follows:

Captain Youngblood completed an inter-service transfer into the United States Space Force (USSF) in November 2024 and then reported for duty at the Pentagon where he assumed his current role as the Branch Chief of Rest-of-World (ROW) Space & Counterspace in S2A at USSF Headquarters. In this capacity, he oversees the monitoring, analysis, and reporting of space and counterspace threats impacting U.S. national security interests.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Captain Youngblood graduated in 2002 from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and in 2011 from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Public Administration degree. He earned his commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy through Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.

His initial shore assignment was at Navy Information Operations Command Maryland where he served as a Battle Watch Captain leading a 24/7 watch floor providing Signals Intelligence and Information Operation support to Fleet units and shore commands conducting global operations. After qualifying as an Information Warfare Officer he was assigned to the National Security Agency as Deputy Branch Chief of the Korea Military Counterintelligence and Cyber Operation Branch.

At sea, he served as the operations and tactics division officer aboard USS Higgins (DDG 76), where he oversaw Information Warfare, Electronic Warfare, Intelligence Oversight, and Security Management. This tour included an 8-month deployment to the Fifth and Seventh Fleet areas of responsibility, highlighted by the successful execution of a Focused Collection Operation. Following the deployment, he was selected for a special TAD assignment to serve as the J2 Intelligence Directorate for Pacific Partnership 2019, a multinational mission promoting mutual security interests in Southeast Asia through diplomatic and humanitarian efforts.

His follow-on tour was at Commander, U.S. THIRD Fleet in San Diego, CA where he was responsible for the planning and execution of cryptologic operations. Additionally, he was dual qualified as a Battle Watch Captain on the C3F Maritime Operations Center Watch Floor and a Fleet Intelligence Watch Officer on the C3F N2/39 Indications and Warning Watch Floor. As a Navy Lieutenant, his final tour was at Naval Space Field Activity in Chantilly, VA working the Systems Engineering Directorate of the National Reconnaissance Office. During this assignment, he led an architectural team tasked with delivering innovative solutions that enabled data delivery to joint and coalition warfighters operating in communication-denied environments; from there he was competitively selected for an inter-service-transfer into the United States Space Force.

Captain Youngblood’s decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal, various service awards, and two NSA inter-agency awards. He resides in Waldorf, MD, with his wife Lauren and their two sons, Anthony Jr. and Ashton.