Profile
Captain Sharon Pinder, the daughter of a career Air Force Airman, was born at Shaw AFB, Sumter, South Carolina, but called many places home throughout her life. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Systems Engineering and an academic minor in Leadership through her service in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. She was commissioned in May 1999 as a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO). She is a graduate of the Naval War College and holds a Master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. She redesignated as a Cryptologic Warfare Officer (CWO) in 2003, a part of the larger Information Warfare Community.
Captain Pinder’s operational tours as a SWO include USS Peterson (DD 969) as the Damage Control Assistant, where she deployed ISO Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); Training Officer and Assistant Operations Officer on USS WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG 81). As a CWO, she deployed with Carrier Strike Group EIGHT on board USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76) and Carrier Strike Group TEN on board USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) with deployments in support of OIF and Operation Enduring Freedom. Later she was assigned to Amphibious Squadron ELEVEN on board USS ESSEX (LHD 2) as Cryptologic Resource Coordinator and Deputy Information Warfare Commander in the Forward Deployed Naval Forces, Sasebo, Japan.
Ashore, Captain Pinder served as Resource Mission Manager at Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Colorado; Executive Officer at NIOC Yokosuka, Japan; Joint Intelligence Planner at United States Central Command; 02 National Mission Team Leader for Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF); Executive Officer of Cyber Strike Activity SIXTY THREE (CSA-63); and Branch Head for Cyber Warfare Capabilities, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV).
Command assignments include Commander, CNMF Task Force One, Commanding Officer of CSA-63, and Commanding Officer of Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command (NCDOC), Commander, Task Force 1020.
Captain Pinder is a fully Joint Qualified Officer and now serves as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Training at Naval Information Forces.
Sessions