The U.S. Navy has seen another Korean-American take the helms of a U.S. guided-missile destroyer.

Steven Lee became the 14th commanding officer of USS Gonzalez in Norfolk, Virginia, on Feb. 25, according to the official website of USS Gonzalez.

He is the third Korean-American captain of a U.S. destroyer, following Choi Hee-dong, commander of the USS Chafee and Jeffrey Kim of the destroyer USS John S. McCain.

Commander Lee is the first Korean American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy to command at sea.

He is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. His first sea duty assignment was aboard the USS Simpson where he served as communications officer and ordnance officer. 

Subsequent sea duty assignments are operations officer in USS Samuel B. Roberts, and executive officer in USS Grasp, USS Decatur and USS Gonzalez.

Among assignments ashore were federal executive fellow at the Brookings Institution, a White House social aide, and the branch head of Officer and NROTC programs at Navy Recruiting Command.

Commander Lee earned a bachelor of science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master of arts from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of the College of Naval Command and Staff and the Joint Forces Staff College.

He studied international politics at the University of Oxford and national security and international affairs at The Institute of World Politics.

USS Gonzalez was commissioned in 1996 after Alfredo Gonzalez, one of Hispanic Marines awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in the Vietnam War.

(swchun@heraldcorp.com)