Captain Stephen M. Yargosz is a native of North Webster, Indiana and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in 1998. He commissioned through Officer Candidate School and completed Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer training in 1999.
Operationally, Captain Yargosz served in Fighter Squadron (VF) 143 as a Material Control Officer deploying on USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN-69) and USS John F Kennedy (CV-67) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In December 2002, he was selected for lateral transfer/resignation and completed flight school in October 2004. Following flight school, he served with Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 4 deploying three times with the Black Knights onboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). As a department head with the Red Wolves of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 84, he deployed four times to Iraq where he flew over 120 combat missions in support of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula. As Commanding Officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 9 he led the Tridents through multiple Fleet Replenishment and Training Squadron carrier landing qualification support detachments, as well as detachments to fleet week in New York, exercise JADED THUNDER 19, and hurricane Dorian Bahamas disaster relief. Following command, he served as Navigator for USS George Washington (CVN-73) during the ships midlife Refueling and Complex Overhaul.
Ashore Captain Yargosz was a student at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia where he complete JPME Phase I and received a Master in Military Science. He served as a policy analyst focused on United Nations and European drug policy while at the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Executive Office of the President, in Washington, D.C. from July 2014 to January 2017. He completed JPME Phase II at the Joint Forces Staff College in 2020.
Captain Yargosz has over 2,500 flight hours. His decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (2nd), Strike/Flight Air Medal (10th), Navy Commendation Medal (2nd), and Navy Achievement Medal (2nd).
Last Updated: 16 October 2023