Capt. Philip R. Mlynarski
Commanding Officer, NSWCDD

Capt. Philip R. Mlynarski is the 47^th commanding officer of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) where he assumed command on April 29, 2022.

A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Mlynarski is a 1997 graduate of Purdue University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He has also completed a Master of Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University.

Mlynarski’s career in the Navy began as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS John Hancock (DD 981) where he served as Gunnery Officer and Force Protection Officer.  He then served aboard USS Dewert (FFG 45) as Ship’s Navigator.  Following his tour as Assistant Professor of Naval Science at Auburn, he was selected for lateral transfer to the Engineering Duty Officer Community and reported to the Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Mayport, Florida.  At this command he was Ship Repair Officer for 9 ships.  

Subsequent shore duty tours included serving as the program manager’s Technical Representative for Standard Missiles at the Raytheon Missile Systems plant in Tucson, Arizona; Engineering Duty Officer Accessions Detailer within the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Millington, Tennessee; and Modernization and Technical Officer for Commanding Officer Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  

Mlynarski also served as an Individual Augmentee participating in Operation Enduring Freedom.  While in Afghanistan, he supported the military’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Embedded Training Teams and was responsible for training members of the Afghanistan Army’s Herat Garrison and Corps Headquarters staff.

Mlynarski served as Deputy Technical Director for AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense in support of the Missile Defense Agency in February 2015, where he managed all Engineering personnel and future systems development to include BMD 6.0, AEGIS B/L 5.4, SPY Refurbishment Radar HW, and other critical technology experiments.  As a follow-on tour, he was promoted to AEGIS BMD Director of Test and Evaluation where he manages all aspects of the AEGIS BMD Test program to include SM-3 BLK IB, SM-3 BLK IB TU, SM-3 BLK IIA, SM-6 Sea Based Terminal, all Ground Test campaigns, and all other critical experimentation involving flight testing.  

In October 2017, Mlynarski served as the Executive Officer to the Director of the Missile Defense Agency where he managed and oversaw all aspects of the Director’s daily schedule and staff.

In May 2018, Mlynarski was selected for promotion to the grade of Captain and took command of AEGIS Technical Representative in Moorestown, New Jersey. Currently, he serves as the 47^th commanding officer of NSWCDD in Dahlgren, VA. Mlynarski's personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal (with four gold stars) and the Navy Achievement Medal (with one gold star).