A native of Portage, Indiana, Jim was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1987 upon graduating from the University of Southern California. He served for over 30 years in myriad capacities, especially in the areas of Combat Systems, Air Defense and Ballistic Missile Defense.

His first sea assignment was as Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer in USS MOOSBRUGGER (DD 980). He later served as Fire Control and Missiles Officer in USS HEWITT (DD 966) where he deployed twice to the Middle East as part of Operation DESERT STORM. He served as Weapons Officer, then Combat Systems Officer in USS GETTYSBURG (CG 64), also deploying twice to the Middle East. He served as Executive Officer in USS DOYLE (FFG 39) where he deployed to South America conducting counter narco-terrorism operations. He then served as Chief Staff Officer of Destroyer Squadron Twenty-eight, deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. He commanded USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53), deploying to the Western Pacific performing Ballistic Missile Defense duties. His last sea assignment was as Commanding Officer of USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53) as well as the Air Defense Commander for the ABRAHAM LINCOLN and JOHN C. STENNIS Carrier Strike Groups.

His shore assignments included Officer-in-Charge, Mk 41 Vertical Launching System Training Facility, Port Hueneme, California, then Executive Officer of the Naval Ship Weapon Systems Engineering Station, Port Hueneme. He later served as International Political-Military Affairs officer for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on the staff of Commander, United States European Command, Stuttgart, Germany. He served as Deputy Director, Flag Officer Management and Distribution, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Later he served as Open Architecture Lead for the Director of Surface Warfare, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV N86). He later served as a CNO Fellow in the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group. He served as Commanding Officer, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit, Professor of Naval Science, and Department Chair in the College of Social and Behavioral Science at the University of Utah. His last assignment was at NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, where he was the Policy Branch Head and later the Advance Plans Team Leader. Jim then transitioned to become an Operations Manager running outbound, inbound, inventory control, and quality assurance operations at two of Amazon’s North American fulfillment centers. His last position at Amazon was as Process Engineer. He moved to Fortem Technologies in 2019. He is Program Manager for Fortem’s contract with the Defense Innovation Unit and other DoD organizations. Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Safety and Systems Management from USC and a Master of Science degree in Management from the University of St. Mary. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and was designated as a Joint Specialty Officer.