Joe is a native Central New Yorker, commissioned upon graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 2003 as a surface warfare officer. Joe served as main propulsion officer on USS MILIUS (DDG-69), and as a staff officer assigned to Destroyer Squadron 7 (CDS-7), embarked on USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN-76), deploying to Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa, Joe's final tour was with Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest, assigned to the Public Works Division at Naval Air Station Coronado.