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Commander David Hooper, a native of Woodbridge, VA, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in May 2006, where he conferred a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and received a commission as a Surface Warfare Officer.
He immediately joined the USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41) while on deployment after graduating and served as the Main Propulsion Division Officer; he earned his Surface Warfare designation in just 10 months. In November 2008, he was selected for transfer and redesignation into the Human Resources community. Shortly after redesignation, Commander Hooper reported to the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in March 2009 where he subsequently earned a Master of Science degree in Operations Research and authored a thesis focused on optimizing manpower.
Upon graduating from NPS, he reported to Navy Recruiting District, Raleigh, NC in April 2011 and served as the Recruiting Operations Officer. In January 2014, he reported to Navy Recruiting Command (NRC) HQ and served in a highly visible Operations Research Analyst billet within the Operations Department (N37) where he was charged by Deputy Commander, Navy Recruiting Command to help NRC undergo an analytic transformation.
Commander Hooper reported to the Navy’s nascent Office of Talent Optimization (OTO) in July 2016 as the Technical Advisor for Analytics. During his tenure with OTO, Commander Hooper completed his second Master of Science degree in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. In April 2018, he reported to OPNAV N100 where he served as the Deputy Section Head for Strength Planning & Analysis where the focus was on developing accurate Navy Officer, Enlisted, and Midshipmen end-strength forecasts for current and future years in support of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process.
Prior to reporting to U.S. European Command (EUCOM) J1 as the Navy Service Chief and later as the Branch Chief for Strategic Planning & Operations, Commander Hooper graduated from the Joint and Combined Warfighting School – JPME Phase II in June 2020. As the Navy Service Chief he managed and oversaw the manning (strength) of 235 Navy Officer and Enlisted billets and as the Branch Chief he oversaw operational planning, accountability, and training exercises for EUCOM J1. In June 2022, he reported as the Executive Officer for NTAG New Orleans and went on to assume Command on 4 August 2023; while in Command, New Orleans went on to establish themselves as the top ranked NTAG in the Navy Recruiting enterprise.
His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Award and various other unit citations. He has maintained his Professional Human Resources (PHR) certification since December 2013.
He currently resides in Manhattan Beach, CA with his wife Alison and children Josephine, Weston, and Beau.
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