USS Howard Officer Awarded Missile Defender of the Year

Courtesy Photo | (ALEXANDRIA, Va.) - Lt. Kristen Ringwall, a Milton, Georgia native, and USS Howard (DDG 83) Fire Control Officer, received the Missile Defense Advocacy (MDA) Alliance U.S. Missile Defender of the Year Award Jan. 14. Lt. Ringwall attended the Missile Defender of the Year Award Ceremony in Alexandria, Virginia to receive the award. The ceremony recognized and honored one member from each branch of the military who best leveraged operational and deployed missile defense systems over the previous year. (Courtesy Photo from Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance)  

YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JAPAN

01.14.2022

Story by Ensign Morgan Bollinger 

USS HOWARD (DDG 83)

YOKOSUKA, JAPAN – Lt. Kristen Ringwall received the Missile Defense Advocacy (MDA) Alliance U.S. Missile Defender of the Year Award Jan. 14. Lt. Ringwall, a Milton, Georgia native commissioned through the Notre Dame Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program and is serving as the Fire Control Officer onboard USS Howard (DDG 83) forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.
Lt. Ringwall attended the Missile Defender of the Year Award Ceremony in Alexandria, Virginia to receive the award. The ceremony recognized and honored one member from each branch of the military who best leveraged operational and deployed missile defense systems over the previous year. In attendance were numerous Flag and General Officers from all service branches. This year, the award ceremony’s speakers highlighted the importance of missile defense in today’s age of hypersonic missiles and ballistic missile proliferation.
Lt. Ringwall’s award was presented by Vice Adm. Ronald Boxall, Director for Force Structure, Resources and Assessment of the Joint Staff. During her acceptance speech, Lt. Ringwall conceptualized her view of the Navy’s purpose in ballistic missile defense.
“Imagine with me that the United States military had 47 tiny bases with radars so powerful they could see into space,” said Lt. Ringwall. “These radars could detect small warheads traveling 15-thousand miles per hour - fifteen times faster than the earth is spinning, and track it finely enough to knock it out of space with another missile, skin to skin.”
She went on to explain that these bases, radars, and weapons all exist in the form of an Aegis warship, with a SPY radar, loaded out with Standard Missile-3s. She then emphasized how warships were able to provide standalone, worldwide Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) coverage, on all oceans, to protect U.S. interests and allies. “With food and fuel alone, a destroyer can generate its own power and protect the skies even after every satellite is gone. Even if it were the very last ship afloat,” Ringwall said.
At the end of her speech, Ringwall applauded Howard’s Combat Fire Control Division and the BMD watch teams for maintaining and operating the essential equipment needed for successful capability. She also reiterated the importance of events such as the award ceremony in raising awareness of the missile defense mission. “Events like this encourage conversation and motivate leaders in their respective branches to stress the importance of missile defense to their own units and commands,” Ringwall stated. “The American people and our allies depend on teamwork to ensure the next century is a peaceful one.”
(Lt. Ringwall’s full write-up of accomplishments is located here: https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/defender_of_the_year/2021-u-s-missile-defender-of-the-year/lieutenant-kristen-ringwall-united-states-navy/)
Upon Lt. Ringwall’s arrival to Howard, the ship was completing a modernization upgrade. Lt. Ringwall built the BMD program from the ground up, training the ship’s combat team throughout the entirety of the Basic, Integrated, and Advanced phases in Air Warfare, BMD, and Surface Warfare.
Lt. Ringwall also led Howard’s combat team during 80 scenarios, 20 of which she developed herself within the training program and prepared the combat team so well they earned rare T1 scores in three different BMD assessments. In 2021, Lt. Ringwall spearheaded the MDA-at-Sea Demonstration-01, where Howard was the first Aegis ship to track single and simultaneous Resident Space Objects base on Space Command and Communications directed tasking.
Lt. Ringwall worked directly with the Space Force while simultaneously facilitating the Navy’s first Special Access Protocol at Sea program to support the mission. Lt. Ringwall also led Howard’s combat team in two BMD Readiness Exercises, coordinating between Japanese, American, and South Korean forces. Her efforts led to the successful testing of the communications and link structure needed to jointly defend the homeland.
The Defenders of the Year are selected by their peers and commanding officers from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. National Guard, and the U.S. Space Force. Lt. Ringwall is recognized as an exceptional individual and for her role in defending our homeland, armed forces, and allies.

• Date Taken: 01.14.2022
• Date Posted: 03.22.2022 00:18
• Story ID: 416887
• Location: YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP
• Hometown: MILTON, GA, US