LT Alex Yachanin received his commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2014, graduating with honors with a B.S. in Ocean Engineering and a minor in Spanish. While in Annapolis, he rowed on the Varsity Lightweight Crew Team and spent a semester abroad at the Chilean Naval Academy. His first assignment on active-duty was at Stanford University, where he earned an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering while serving as research assistant for Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and teaching assistant for Dr. Siegfried Hecker in the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) and Preventive Defense Project.  

Alex graduated at the top of his class from Naval Nuclear Power School in Charleston, SC and the Basic Division Officer Course in Norfolk, VA. He earned his Surface Warfare Officer qualification onboard the destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60), where he served as the Combat Electronics Division Officer, the Gunnery Officer, and the Legal Officer. In 2019, he was transferred to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), where he supervised the operations of the ship’s nuclear propulsion plant. He is currently stationed in San Diego, CA as a nuclear staff assistant for Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific.