Kristen Ringwall Damico ’17

Major: Science-Business

Safeguarding the nation as a leading expert in missile defense

As the youngest graduate of the Navy’s elite Integrated Air and Missile Defense Warfare Tactics Instructor program, Kristen Ringwall Damico ’17 is an award-winning leader in defense. She was commissioned from Notre Dame’s Naval ROTC program as a Surface Warfare Officer the day before graduation; just two weeks later, her ship departed Naval Base San Diego for a deployment to the Middle East.

For the first five years of her naval career, Damico served onboard the USS Howard, a Navy Destroyer with a crew of 350 people. She first served as the Main Propulsion Officer and was then chosen to be Fire Control Officer, responsible for the ship’s radar and combat systems, as well as all combat training onboard. While onboard, she oversaw seven missile shoots, certifying the Navy’s newest software and hardware system onboard any Destroyer. For these efforts and for establishing a high-scoring ballistic missile defense program, she won the 2021 Navy Missile Defender of the Year award, awarded to just one person in the Navy each year. While on the ship, she was also selected for the prestigious Integrated Air and Missile Defense Warfare Tactics Instructor school, of which she was the youngest ever graduate, and won the “Top Tactician” award in her class. 

Damico later became an instructor for the Carrier Strike Group at Tactical Training Group Pacific for three years, training 34 ships and overseeing three more missile shoots. She trained with the Japanese Self-Defense Force, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Israeli Defense Force to improve the Navy’s ability to operate with partner nations. Damico has also written four published articles in Proceedings magazine, the Naval Engineers Journal, and the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance’s (MDAA) website, and was named the Rear Admiral Kathleen K. Paige Military Fellow by MDAA.

After eight years in the Navy, Kristen became a civilian and now works at the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Virginia, as the lead contractor for Naval Space Science and Technology while her husband still serves as a naval aviator. Originally from Milton, Georgia, Damico graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2017 with a degree in science-business and is a proud Lewis Hall Chick.