Captain Battles was raised in Dallas, Texas and commissioned in May 2003 through the Miami University Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs.
Afloat, CAPT Battles first served as a Liaison Officer to the Argentine Navy in ARA LIBERTAD from May 2003 to November 2003 and later as Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer in USS GARY (FFG 51) homeported in Yokosuka, Japan from December 2003 to November 2005. For his second Division Officer tour, he served as Training Officer in USS MITSCHER (DDG 57) homeported in Norfolk, Virginia from February 2006 to February 2008. As a Department Head, CAPT Battles served as Operations Officer in USS MICHAEL MURPHY (DDG 112) homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii from May 2011 to May 2013 and Operations Officer in USS CHANCELLORSVILLE, now USS ROBERT SMALLS (CG 62), homeported in San Diego, California from May 2013 to December 2014. He also served as a surface warfare Sea Combat Assessor and exercise planner for Carrier Strike Group FIFTEEN from February 2015 to May 2017. CAPT Battles served as Executive Officer in USS GONZALEZ (DDG 66) homeported in Norfolk, Virginia from August 2018 to February 2021, and then assumed Command from May 2021 to October 2022 deploying to the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea.
Ashore, CAPT Battles served as a Naval Science Instructor at the NROTC Unit at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a Maritime Warfare Instructor at the Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport, Rhode Island, and as Executive Assistant to the President of the Naval War College. He earned a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, graduating with highest distinction and recognized as the honor graduate for the College of Naval Warfare. Additionally, he completed the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center Sea Combat Division Warfare Tactics Instructor program and is an ASW-SUW WTI.
CAPT Battles’ awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal (Six Awards), the Navy Achievement Medal (Two Awards), and various campaign, unit, and service awards.
Last Updated: 22 December 2025