Billy grew up in New City, New York, and is the son of a NYC Fireman and middle school teacher. He attended the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as an Officer in the U.S. Navy in 2006. Shortly thereafter he commenced an advanced training pipeline within Naval Special Warfare in Coronado, California, and subsequently was assigned to a Team in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He has served overseas on multiple deployments across Iraq, Afghanistan, North and East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Pacific theater working on national security, counter terrorism, counterinsurgency, and Great Power Competition issues. Billy is married to Dr. Jenny Knips, and is a father of four.