On active duty, he commanded Patrol Squadron Eleven, USS ESSEX (LHD-2),
Patrol and Reconnaissance Force Pacific and Task Force 32, and served as Vice Director and Acting
Director for Operations (J-3), Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Naval Inspector General. He retired
from military service in 2011 and joined Lockheed Martin, serving as President of the Middle
East-Africa region and later as Deputy, Lockheed Martin International and Regional Executive,
Africa-Latin America, overseeing global partnerships, business development, and corporate
strategy. In 2007, Winns was the recipient of the Becoming Everything You Are (BEYA) “Career
Achievement in Government” Award for inspirational STEM leadership. He currently serves as
National Chairman of the BEYA Stars and Stripes Military Alumni Association where he has made a
significant impact reaching over 40,000 students and professionals. Moreover, he founded the BEYA
National Scholarship Foundation and co-founded the BEYA National STEM Student Mentoring Program
which, to date, has inspired over 7,000 high school students. Winns currently serves on corporate
boards and is a trustee of the Naval Academy Foundation Athletic and Scholarship Programs. He and
his family reside in Orlando, FL.