Rear Admiral Todd Whalen is a third-generation naval officer from Virginia Beach. He graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and completed the Navy’s nuclear power training program. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned master’s degrees in ocean engineering and environmental engineering.

A surface warfare officer, his operational tours include communications officer on USS Normandy (CG 60), machinery division officer on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), operations officer on USS Thorn (DD 988), reactor electrical assistant on USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), executive officer on USS Gonzalez (DDG 66), commanding officer of USS Rodney M Davis (FFG 60), reactor officer on USS Nimitz (CVN 68), and commodore for Destroyer Squadron 9. 

Ashore, Whalen served as officer in charge of Commander Naval Air Forces Maintenance Training Group in Yokosuka, Japan; operations research analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation; and Chief of Staff to Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic.

In his first flag officer assignment, he served as the 72nd President of the Board of Inspection and Survey. He assumed command of Carrier Strike Group 3 in April 2025.

Whalen has earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award and various personal, unit, and campaign awards. He is a licensed professional engineer and a nationally-certified youth soccer coach.