Meet the Captain and Executive Officer of USS Shoup (DDG-86)

From Petty Officer Third Class Riley Black, USS Shoup (DDG 86) Public Affairs Assistant

USS Shoup’s (DDG 86) Commanding Officer, Commander Dale R. Tourtelotte is a native of Orange, Texas. He attended Texas A&M and commissioned through their NROTC program in 2005. Commander Tourtelotte completed his graduate studies at the Naval Post graduate school earning a Master of Science in Modeling Virtual Environments and Simulations (MOVES). He has been married to his high school sweetheart for 18 years. He has three wonderful children. His interests include hiking, biking, playing board games with his family and exploring Japan.

Tourtelotte is a Surface Warfare Officer and has done six ship tours including one other command tour. He commanded the USS Hurricane (PC 3) in Manama, Bahrain. During his command, he completed 30 patrols throughout the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf. In March of 2021, he became the Executive Officer of the USS Shoup while it was homeported in San Diego, California. Commander Tourtelotte took command two days prior to SHOUP’s homeport shift to Yokosuka, Japan.

His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and many other unit and service awards.

USS Shoup’s Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Timothy Winters is from Fairfield, Maine. Winters has over 25 years of service starting as a deck seaman then becoming an air traffic controller. He commissioned through Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Winters completed his undergraduate studies from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and his graduate studies from the Naval Post graduate school earning a Master of Business Administration in Financial Management. His interests include playing hockey, cycling, fitness and playing sports with his three children. His wife Natsuko is a native of Sasebo, Japan.

Winters is a Surface Warfare Officer and has done six ship tours. The USS Shoup is his 5th tour in 7th fleet. He has been on countless deployments throughout 5th and 7th fleets. He joined the USS Shoup as their Executive Officer in December 2022, following her homeport shift. Lieutenant Commander Winters constantly seeks self and organizational improvement and focuses on improving in at least one skill daily.