A San Diego-based sailor accused of taking steps toward a defection to Russia and attempting to share classified information about the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered warships has been sentenced to three years of confinement following a court martial, the FBI said Thursday.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen Kellogg III, who served aboard the nuclear-powered Carl Vinson as a nuclear electrician’s mate, pleaded guilty May 16 to two violations of the Espionage Act and one violation of a lawful general order, both related to the illegal communication of national defense information.

Kellogg, 26, admitted that he attempted to board a commercial flight from San Diego to New York on Aug. 27 to provide the classified information to a journalist who he thought intended to make the material public, according to a pretrial agreement.

He was arrested that day at San Diego International Airport by Harbor Police on charges of being drunk in public and resisting arrest, according to arrest logs. When he was questioned in custody, his responses led to the launch of the espionage investigation, according to U.S. officials.


He also admitted to telling his roommate last summer that he was planning on defecting to Russia. During that time, Kellogg searched the internet for flight information to Moscow, contacts at the Russian Consulate in San Diego and contacts at Sevmash, a Russian company that builds naval ships and nuclear submarines, according to the FBI. He also wrote to an email address associated with Sevmash, stating, “I am willing,” the FBI said.

In May and August 2018, Kellogg took photos of areas on the ship that contained sensitive information about the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program, then sent those photos to his father and ex-girlfriend, according to his agreement.

“This Sailor’s attempts to disclose classified Navy nuclear propulsion information posed a significant threat to national security and endangered the lives of American service members,” said Special Agent in Charge Garrett Waugh of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Southwest Field Office. NCIS and the FBI were assisted by San Diego Harbor Police in the investigation.

Kellogg, from Buffalo, N.Y., enlisted in the Navy in 2014 and served on the Carl Vinson from May to September 2018. It is no longer homeported in San Diego.


According to his LinkedIn page, Kellogg attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

He describes himself as a “Results driven nuclear electrical operator with an upbeat team player attitude. I aim to improve myself and the establishment in which I am involved however possible.”

Kellogg’s sentence came down May 17. He will also be dishonorably discharged from the Navy and his rank reduced from an E-5 to E-1.

“The Navy holds our Sailors to high standards of conduct and behavior, and the majority of our Sailors live up to those standards every day,” Navy Cmdr. Nate Christensen, deputy spokesman of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a statement. “When they do not, we hold offenders accountable. This type of behavior has no place in our military.”