Capt. Ricardo Vigil

Commanding Officer, Naval Research Lab

U.S. Navy

Capt. Ricardo Vigil currently serves as Commanding Officer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.

A native of Paterson, New Jersey, he received his commission in 1996 through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. After completing Surface Warfare Officer School, he reported to USS Princeton (CG 59) where he served as the ship's communications officer and electronic key management system custodian. During his tour, he qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and completed a counter-narcotic deployment in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

After Navy nuclear power training in Charleston, South Carolina and Ballston Spa, New York, he reported to USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) where he served as the reactor electrical division officer. During his tour, he completed propulsion plant watch officer and nuclear engineer officer qualifications.

Following his division officer and shore tours, Vigil lateral transferred to the Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) community in 2004. During his EDO qualification tour, he served at Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific as a project officer for shipboard computer network defense. He then reported as officer-in-charge (OIC) SPAWAR Middle East Detachment at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) / United States Fifth Fleet in Bahrain from February 2009 to April 2010.

Vigil then served as assistant program manager (APM) for the Command and Control Systems (PMW-150) program office from April 2010 to September 2011 where he delivered Joint Range Extension to the fleet providing high throughput LINK-16 and LINK-22 connectivity. From October 2014 to March 2017, Vigil served as the principal APM for Directed Energy Weapons branch in the Above Water Sensors Program Office (PEO IWS 2.0).

Most recently, Vigil served as the Executive Officer at U.S. Naval Research Laboratory headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Vigil has a bachelor's degree in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a doctorate in applied physics from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is an Acquisition Corps member with a Level III certification in Engineering and Program Management. His personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (4), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit and sea service awards.

Event Participation