Commander Dave Latta '09, M.S., has been appointed Commanding Officer of the Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NROTC) program and Professor of Naval Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Commander Latta is a career nuclear submarine officer who has served aboard both fast-attack and strategic deterrent submarines. He most recently commanded USS Scranton in San Diego, California, from 2019 to 2021, leading one seven-month deployment to the Western Pacific. 

The NROTC Program was established to educate and train qualified young men and women for service as commissioned officers in the unrestricted line Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve and is the largest single source of Navy and Marine Corps officers. Commander Latta will lead the NROTC Scholarship Program in preparing mature young men and women for leadership and management positions in an increasingly technical Navy and Marine Corps. 

“It is a pleasure to be back at RPI doing what I love with a team of great colleagues. Developing our young people — our volunteers for national service — into focused, ethical and responsible leaders is one of the greatest challenges,” Commander Latta said.

Commander Latta previously served as Executive Officer aboard USS Alabama in Bangor, Washington, as Engineer Officer aboard USS Buffalo on the island of Guam, and as junior officer aboard USS Wyoming in Kings Bay, Georgia. Ashore, his assignments include service as a Legislative Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives, advancing defense and military family issues and contributing original language to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 115-91). He also served as executive officer of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board and as an instructor at the Nuclear Power Training Unit in Ballston Spa, New York. 

Commander Latta is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington State. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas, a Master of Science in Management from the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and certificates from Georgetown University and the Naval War College. 
 

Commander Latta and his family reside in Saratoga Springs, New York. His personal interests include cycling, sailing, and restoring a classic Grand Wagoneer.