Captain Joseph Rochefort Information Warfare Officer
Distinguished Leadership Award

The Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. TENTH Fleet selects an officer recipient of the Information Warfare Officer Distinguished Leadership Award, named in honor of Captain Joseph Rochefort. Captain Rochefort led the cryptologists assigned to Station Hypo in Hawaii who played such a significant role in the U.S. victory against the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway in 1942. The U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association had the honor of first presenting this award in 2013.

Captain Joseph John Rochefort was a major figure in the U.S. Navy’s development of cryptologic and intelligence capabilities from 1925 to 1947. He headed the U.S. Navy’s fledgling cryptanalytic organization in the 1920s and provided singularly superb cryptologic support to the U.S. fleet during World War II, leading to victory in the Pacific War. At the end of his career (1942 – 1946), CAPT Rochefort successfully headed the Pacific Strategic Intelligence Group in Washington. In 1986, he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution during the Battle of Midway.

YearRecipient
2024 LCDR Justin Miles
2023 LCDR Nicholas J. Davis, USN (NSWDG)
2022 LCDR Gerie W. Palanca, USN (U.S. 7th Fleet Staff)
2021 LCDR Stephen Cortez, USN (Carrier Strike Group FIVE)
2020 Cryptologic awards were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic.
2019 CDR Jeffrey L. Burke, USN
2018 CWO4 Jarvis J. Ware, USN
2017 CWO4 Kevin J. Schneider, USN
2016 Commander Michael C. Elliot, USN
2015 Commander James W. Adkisson, USN
2014 Lieutenant Commander Charles H. Hall, USN
2013 Lieutenant Commander Lemuel Lawrence, USN
2012 CWO3 Stephen J. Garofolo, USN
2011 Commander Nicholas Homan, USN Commanding Officer, NIOC Colorado