FC2 Bartholomew Ringer, United States Navy

2014 U.S. Missile Defender of the Year

FC2 Ringer was selected as the 2014 Missile Defender of the Year for the U.S. Navy.

Bartholomew Ringer graduated from Parkway North High School in West County, St.
Louis, MO in 1999. He attended the University of Evansville, IN and the University of
Missouri before pursuing a career in the U.S. Navy. In 2010 he enlisted in the Navy and
attended boot camp and FC “A” School in Great Lakes, IL.

FC2 Bartholomew Ringer’s quality of work, leadership, and tactical acumen define the
standard of excellence for the Navy’s finest warship’s Aegis Combat System suite. He is an
unparalleled technical and tactical expert. Ringer’s noteworthy accomplishments over the
last year make him extraordinarily worthy of recognition.

Ringer was personally responsible for the technical planning and execution of the first
successful completion of DOT&E testing requirements for the BMD 4.0 Weapons System
during the FTX-18/Atlantic Darts live tracking exercise. During this critical testing event, a
raid of three short range Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle ballistic missile targets were
launched from NASA’ s Wallops Flight Facility.

Additionally, Ringer played a paramount role preparing Donald Cook for her maiden
Ballistic Missile Defense Patrol to Sixth Fleet. As the first Forward Deployed Naval ForceEurope
ship in theater, Donald Cook led the charge by seamlessly executing the Aegis BMD
component of President Obama’s Phased Adaptive Approach to the Missile Defense of
Europe. As lead Radar System Controller, FC2 Ringer personally led the charge on 17
successful BMD exercises, including two highly visible Joint BMD events with the U.S.
Army, U.S. Air Force, and Israeli Defense Force.

Ringer Maintained Donald Cook’s SPY radar at 100% mission readiness throughout the
ships patrol, leading to the expeditions repair of 11 major SPY casualties. His overall efforts
resulted in an unprecedented five months on the SPY honor roll.

Defenders of the Year