Executive Officer
Cmdr. Anthony M. Piunno III
Cmdr. Anthony M. Piunno III, a native of Upland, California, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Quantitative Economics.
After completing initial flight training, Piunno reported to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 40 in Jacksonville, Florida for LAMPS MKIII flight training in the SH-60B Seahawk. Following training, he was assigned to HSL-48. There, he served as Detachment 10 operations officer in USS Hawes (FFG 53) and Detachment 4 maintenance officer in USS Bulkeley (DDG 84). He conducted a Counter Narco-Terrorism (CNT) deployment in the 4th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) and counter piracy operations in support of the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
In July of 2011, Piunno reported to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 40 as a fleet replacement squadron instructor in the MH-60R. He went on to serve as squadron naval air training and operating procedures (NATOPS) instructor and Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (CNAL) NATOPS evaluator. During this time, he completed a master’s degree in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas.
In February 2014, Piunno was selected to join HSM-72. There he served as the squadron quality assurance officer and safety officer ahead of HSM-72’s first CVW deployment aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).
In November 2015, he reported to HSM-70. He served as Detachment 2’s officer in charge onboard USS Hue City (CG 66) and squadron maintenance officer and operations officer onboard USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) during their 2017 deployment to the 5th and 6th Fleet AOR. He was selected as the 2017 HSM-70 Officer of the Year and Commander, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (CHSMWL) Officer of the Year.
In March 2018, he reported to the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command (NORAD & USNORTHCOM) at Peterson AFB, Colorodo. There he served as the NORAD J35 maritime warning branch chief, NORAD & USNORTHCOM current operations center (N2C2) land and maritime domain chief, and NORAD & NORTHCOM Mission Capabilities Preservation Team (MCPT) future operations planner during COVID-19 operations.
Piunno has accumulated over 2,500 flight hours in four different variants of naval aircraft. His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (Three Awards), Navy Achievement Medal, and various unit, campaign, and service medals.