Commanding Officer

CAPT. Katharine Shobe MSC, USN, PhD

Commanding Officer

Captain Katharine (Katie) Shobe is a native of Naperville, Illinois. She was a direct accession and commissioned in 2000 as a Research Psychologist in the Medical Service Corps. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993 and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University in 1999. She also obtained master’s degrees from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (2023) and the Naval War College (2011).

During her ashore tours in Navy Medicine, Shobe served in various positions to include Human Performance Deputy Department Head at the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL), Groton, Connecticut; Department Head of Behavioral Sciences and Epidemiology at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC), San Diego, California; Executive Officer at NHRC; and Commanding Officer at NSMRL.

She served operationally as the Operations Officer when she deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as an Individual Augmentee on the 2nd mission of the NAVCENT Mobile Care Team (MCT-2) from May 2010 until January 2011.

For her ashore tours outside of Navy Medicine, Shobe served as a Human Performance Technologist at the Submarine Learning Center (SLC), Groton, Connecticut; Military Group Head for the Navigation and Applied Sciences Department, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SSC) Pacific, San Diego, California; Deputy Director of Warfighter Protection and Applications Division of Warfighter Performance at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Arlington, Virginia; and Director of Research, Department of the Navy’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (DON SAPRO), Pentagon.

In June 2023, she assumed command of the Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command (NMLPDC) in Bethesda, Maryland after graduating from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School.

Shobe served as the Specialty Leader of the Research Psychology community from March 2013 to December 2016. She also served as the Vice President for the Sea Services Leadership Association (SSLA) from 2012 to 2017. Shobe is an Acquisition Professional Member and is certified in the Program Management and Engineering and Technical Management functional areas. She is authorized to wear the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (five awards), the Navy Achievement Medal, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, as well as multiple unit and campaign awards.