The Commander Operations (COMOPS)[1] is a senior Royal Navy officer based at Northwood Headquarters who exercises operational command of all national maritime operations on behalf of the Fleet Commander.[2] The post was established in 1993.
| Commander Operations | |
|---|---|
 Ensign of the Royal Navy | |
since 26 April 2022 | |
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Abbreviation | COMOPS |
| Member of | Navy Command |
| Reports to | Fleet Commander |
| Seat | Northwood Headquarters, Hertfordshire, England |
| Nominator | Secretary of State for Defence |
| Appointer | Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council |
| Term length | Not fixed (typically 1–3 years) |
| Inaugural holder | Rear-Admiral Roger Lane-Nott |
| Formation | 1993 |
| Website | royalnavy.mod.uk |
Commander Operations previously held the additional posts of Commander Task Force (CTF) 311 (UK attack submarines) and CTF 345 (UK nuclear missile submarines).[3][4] In 2015, Rear Admiral John Weale was appointed Rear Admiral Submarines/Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Submarines, while Rear Admiral Robert Tarrant was made Commander Operations (Royal Navy), separating the two posts.[5][6]
Post-holders
editPost-holders have included:[6]
- 1993–1996 Rear-Admiral Roger Lane-Nott
- 1996–1998 Rear-Admiral James Perowne
- 1998–2002 Rear-Admiral Robert Stevens
- 2002–2004 Rear-Admiral Niall Kilgour
- 2004–2006 Rear-Admiral Paul Lambert
- 2006–2009 Rear-Admiral David Cooke
- 2009–2011 Rear-Admiral Mark Anderson
- 2011–2013 Rear-Admiral Ian Corder
- 2013–2015 Rear-Admiral Matt Parr
- 2015–2017 Rear-Admiral Robert Tarrant
- 2017–2019 Rear-Admiral Paul Halton
- 2019–2022 Rear-Admiral Simon Asquith
- 2022–2024 Rear-Admiral Edward Ahlgren
- 2024–present Major-General Richard Cantrill
Subordinate formations 2016-2017
edit- 3 Commando Brigade
- Surface Flotilla, Commodore Craig Wood, Commander, Surface Flotilla, in post April 2020[9]
- Submarine Flotilla[10]
References
edit- ^ "Commander Maritime Operations visits personnel in the Gulf". Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ "Navy Command senior, as of September 2017". MOD. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ Joining Britain's Royal Navy Archived 2013-12-26 at the Wayback Machine Undersea Warfare
- ^ "SUEZ WAR OF 1956". Godfreydykes.info. 1956-11-05. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ^ "Rear Admiral John Weale" (PDF). Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Senior Royal Navy Appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ^ "Ministry of Defence Organogram". data.gov.uk. MOD, 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ "Navy Command senior staff CSV". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ Mackie, Colin (1 October 2020). "Admirals October 2020" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Mackie, Colin (1 October 2020). "Admirals October 2020" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
Commodore James Le S. Perks: Commander, Submarine Flotilla, April 2020