ChristopherD. Winn
Colonel,USMC
FleetMarine Officer
ACOSN5 Plans, Exercises, and Engagements
Commander,U.S. THIRD Fleet
ARTEMIS II CAPSULE/ASTRONAUT PICK UP.
U.SS John P Murtha
The San Antonio class is a class of amphibious transport docks, also called a "landing platform, dock" (LPD), used by the United States Navy. These warships replace the Austin-class LPDs (including Cleveland and Trenton sub-classes), as well as the Newport-class tank landing ships, the Anchorage-class dock landing ships, and the Charleston-class amphibious cargo ships that have already been retired.[2]
It carries fewer troops, but has twice as much space for vehicles, landing craft, and aircraft.[4] The ships are also suited to act as recovery ships for spacecraft, with a floodable well deck at the back of the vessel into which a capsule can float; Portland was the recovery ship for the Orion capsule of the Artemis 1 uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission on 11 December 2022.[5]
The last time NASA and the Defense Department teamed up for a lunar crew’s reentry was Apollo 17 in 1972. Artemis II was projected to come screaming back at 34,965 feet (10,657 meters) per second — or 23,840 mph (38,367 kph) — not a record but still mind-bogglingly fast before slowing to a 19 mph (30 kph) splashdown.
Question from Listener Question: If they skipped the skipping stone maneuver what would be the maximum G force would they experience? And how critical is the skip to keep the heat shield from over heating? Thanks
Colonel Christopher Winn was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on March
24, 2005, and designated as an infantry officer. His initial assignment was with
2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, where he deployed to Iraq in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2006 to 2007 and again as the Light
Armored Reconnaissance Detachment Commander with the 22nd Marine
Expeditionary Unit in 2009.
Captain Winn reported to The Basic School in 2009 for instructor duty. He
served as a primary instructor for the infantry weapons and land navigation
programs, and later as the Staff Platoon Commander for Warrant Officer Basic
Course 1-11 and Executive Officer for Basic Officer Course 5-11.
In May 2013, Captain Winn reported to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, and
assumed command of Company B, deploying to Okinawa, Japan, as part of the
Unit Deployment Program. The company conducted operations as a Company Landing Force in
Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Following redeployment, he was reassigned as the Commanding
Officer of Weapons Company.
Promoted to Major in 2015, Captain Winn was assigned as the Operations Officer of 2d Reconnaissance
Battalion. He deployed to Aruba as the Battalion Officer in Charge, partnering with the Royal
Netherlands Marine Corps.
Major Winn was assigned as Plans Officer for 3d Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan, in October 2017.
He led a variety of division planning efforts, including exercise design, regional contingency planning,
and the development of a classified Division Warfighting Concept. In 2020, he was promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel and reassigned as Operations Officer, 4th Marine Regiment, where he planned and
directed the Regiment’s deployment for Service Level Training and managed the rotational deployments
of the Regiment’s battalions to Japan.
From July 2021 to July 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Winn commanded 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance
Battalion. During his command, the Battalion (-) deployed as the ground combat element for Exercise
UNITAS 2021, generated, deployed, and recovered three independent Marine Expeditionary Unit
companies, and participated in service-level experimentation and modernization efforts, including
Maritime Reconnaissance and LAV replacement analysis. From July 2023 to July 2024, he served as the
1st Marine Division Command Inspector General and Force Preservation Director.
From October 2024 to August 2025 Colonel Winn was assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff G-5 at
Marine Forces Pacific, responsible for Plans, Posture, and International Affairs. He was responsible for
overseeing MARFORPAC support to ongoing revision of three of the regions highest priority war plans,
planned and executed multiple major bilateral and multilateral Commander engagements with priority
allies and partners and oversaw long range USMC posture planning across INDOPACOM.
Colonel Winn is currently assigned as the N-5 and Fleet Marine Officer, U.S. THIRD Fleet.
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