Details have emerged on the background of Commodore Kelechi Ndukwe, the Nigerian-American making history in the United States (U.S.) Navy.
Commodore Ndukwe was the first Nigerian and Nigerian-American to become Commanding Officer of a U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer, USS HALSEY (DDG-97). He took command on Friday, April 2, 2021.
Now, Ndukwe is serving as Commodore of Destroyer Squadron 60 & Task Force 65 in Spain.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria, in a post on November 21, 2025 on verified handle on X, said “his journey is pure inspiration and a true example of #AmericanExcellence!”
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Commodore Ndukwe graduated from University of Notre Dame in 2002 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering.
He was commissioned through the Naval ROTC program. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College with a Master’s Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies.
Afloat, Commodore Ndukwe served as Auxiliaries Officer in USS THORN (DD 988) and Fire Control Officer in USS NORMANDY (CG 60). As a Department Head, he served as Weapons Officer and Combat Systems Officer in USS FITZGERALD (DDG 62).
Selected for Early Command, he served as Executive Officer of MCM Crew SWERVE embarked on USS DEVASTATOR (MCM 6).
He assumed Command of SWERVE and transitioned SWERVE to Permanent Crewing of DEVASTATOR in Bahrain. He later served as Executive Officer of USS HALSEY (DDG 97).
Ashore, his assignments include Navy Liaison to U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. The two years deployment in Washington, D.C. also included serving in the Navy Office of Legislative Affairs. Under the office which functions as resource for members of Congress when a Navy-related issue or decision came up in their State or district, enabled him to travel across the U.S. and around the world with members of Congress. Also in that role, he coordinated trips to Naval bases and foreign embassies.
He was also Deputy Executive Assistant, Surface Warfare Directorate on Chief of Naval Operations Staff; and as Resources and Acquisition Management Office Branch Chief on Joint Staff, J8.
Commodore Ndukwe’s personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various campaign and unit awards.
Commodore Ndukwe, who reminds people about his father, an immigrant from Nigeria who worked three jobs while studying engineering at West Virginia University in the 1970s, told his alma mater publication, https://weare.nd.edu, that he also took inspiration from his parents’ determination to earn their degrees and raise their family in a new country.
His mother gave birth to Ndukwe and his younger brother Ikechuku while studying Nursing at West Virginia. Ndukwe is the oldest of four, and his youngest siblings, Chinedum Ndukwe and Ezinne Ndukwe, followed in his footsteps to Notre Dame.
Ndukwe’s first memory of Notre Dame is as a nine-year-old, rooting against the football team in the Fiesta Bowl when the Irish beat his parents’ alma mater West Virginia for the 1988 national championship. But when he was looking at colleges in the Midwest, he took a tour at Notre Dame and immediately felt at home.
“My mom is very spiritual, and she felt incredibly welcomed and comfortable there on campus, and we’re not even Catholic. Going to a Catholic university was different, because I hadn’t really been in that environment before, but it just felt natural,” he says. “And that’s really, how we came upon the Navy, because being the oldest of four kids, Notre Dame was expensive, so I applied for the ROTC scholarship.”
Throughout his Navy career, Ndukwe, who has a Master’s Degree from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from the Navy’s Surface Warfare program, has deployed to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Japan.
As a weapons officer, he managed the weapons on board ships and kept them combat-ready, and as a combat systems officer, he oversaw the radar equipment and communications systems that the ships used to communicate both internally and externally.
Ndukwe is married to Kathryn and is blessed with three children – Farrah, Koby, and Pippa. The Commodore did meet his last born Pippa, who was born in the summer of 2020 while he was deployed, until she was six months old. After being away from home during deployments, family time is precious to Ndukwe.
“My wife has been the rock of the family. She’s my absolute superhero,” he says. “Her being able to hold it down while I’ve been off representing the country and leading the team here, I could not have done it without her holding down the fort like so many Navy spouses do.”
