Brad Hawksworth was commissioned into the U.S. Navy via ROTC and served 24 years as a Surface Warfare Officer. He has deployed to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Caribbean, Middle East, and Western Pacific. Ashore, he served as an instructor at Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic and at Surface Warfare Officer School, and finished his career as the Officer in Charge of the Department of Naval Science at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 2020. He is a Doctoral Candidate in International Relations and holds an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership. He is currently a professor in the College of Distance Education.