CAPT Steve Duba was born in Jacksonville, FL, and lived throughout the United States in a Navy family. He graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY in 2001, where he earned a B.S. in Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management and a U.S. Coast Guard Third Assistant Engineer’s License for vessels of unlimited tonnage. In 2019, he graduated from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI, with an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies.
CAPT Duba’s sea duty assignments include: First Lieutenant and Weapons Officer in USS SENTRY (MCM-3) and USS DEXTROUS (MCM-13); Officer in Charge, EOD Mobile Unit SIX Detachment TWO in Ingleside, TX; EOD Liaison Officer, Carrier Strike Group ELEVEN in Everett, WA; Officer in Charge, Expeditionary Exploitation Unit ONE in Indian Head, MD; and Commanding Officer, EOD Mobile Unit EIGHT in Rota, Spain. In these assignments, Duba conducted a wide array of EOD operations, surface and underwater mine countermeasures, and conventional ordnance and improvised explosive device exploitation and acquisition operations throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia.
His shore duty assignments include: Officer in Charge, EOD Detachment Kings Bay; Training Officer, Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center; and Executive Officer, Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Panama City, FL. During this time, Duba conducted nuclear weapons safety and security operations, oversight of high-risk special operations training, U.S. Secret Service support, and cutting-edge underwater equipment testing and human subject research. In his most recent assignment, CAPT Duba served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as lead weapons analyst in the OPNAV N80 Programming Division, “The Bullpen,” building and defending the Navy’s Program Objective Memorandum.
CAPT Duba is designated as an EOD Warfare Officer, Surface Warfare Officer, Diving Officer, and Naval Parachutist.