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John Gower (British naval officer)

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John Howard James Gower (28 July 1960 - 12 February 2024), CB OBE, was a former British Royal Navy commander. He served as the Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Nuclear & Chemical, Biological) in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) until his retirement in 2014.

John Gower

CB OBE
Born(1960-07-28)28 July 1960
Carshalton, England
Died12 February 2024(2024-02-12) (aged 63)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
Years of service1978 - 2014
RankRear-Admiral
CommandsHMS Trafalgar (S107)
HMS Unicorn (S43)
Alma materUniversity of Salford
Spouse(s)Diana Steven

Early life

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Gower was born in 1960 to Howard Gower and his wife Josephine (maiden name, Smart) in Carshalton, Surrey and moved to Solihull when he was four years old. His father died in a holiday seaside accident in 1969. Josephine remarried Tim Adkin who was a teacher at Solihull School and headed a Royal Air Force section of the school's Combined Cadet Force. Barred early on from becoming a fighter pilot due to poor eyesight, John was subsequently persuaded to join the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1978. By deferring his naval cadetship, Gower took the time to earn a degree in electrical engineering from Salford University.[1]

Royal Navy career

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John entered the Navy in 1978 and earned the rank of Sub Lieutenant in 1980[2] and Lieutenant in 1983.[3] He steadily rose up the naval ranks and was promoted from Lieutenant Commander to Commander in 1994.[4] In 1995 he took command of the HMS Trafalgar.[1] In 1998 he received the O.B.E honorific recognition, "To be Ordinary Officers of the Military Division of the said Most Excellent Order," bestowed by the Crown.[5] Gower's continued upward movement commanding naval vessels was forestalled by an incident of having grounded the HMS Trafalgar off the coast of Scotland, which rendered him ineligible for commanding a larger vessel.[1]

Subsequently he took administrative posts on land. These included the Naval Staff's Assistant Director of Nuclear Deterrence, and he served at the British Embassy in Washington as a naval attaché.[1] He also served at Shrivenham on the Advanced Command and Staff course as the Director for Underwater Capability.[1] He was promoted from Commander to Captain in 2000.[6] He achieved the prestigious rank of Rear Admiral in his promotion from Commodore to Rear Admiral in 2011.[7]

 
The vectorial diagram by Gower demonstrating nuclear deterrence responses at different alertness levels and the correlated effects of threat mitigations.

Gower's final professional naval post as Rear Admiral, in 2011-14, was to serve as Former Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological) in the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence.[8][9] In that role, Gower presided over the 2013 publication of the HM Government Trident Alternatives Review.[10] Having commanded nuclear-armed submarines, Gower was attentive to these weapons systems' role in the United Kingdom, as well as in NATO's strategic defenses. This report analyzes the role and credibility of nuclear deterrence and contrasts the effectiveness of various nuclear weapons systems.[10]: 4  Examining the topic of "credibility and constraints," the document puts forward clear statements about the nature of the UK's nuclear doctrine, deterrence credibility, extended and collective deterrence relevant to NATO, and legal constraints. The report delivers a detailed analysis of various nuclear warhead delivery platforms from large aircraft and submarines to mobile ballistic missile launchers.[10]: 16-17  It also compares different types of warheads from free fall bombs and cruise missile bombs to the UK Trident bomb.[10]: 19  It assesses several nuclear deterrence postures and credibility criteria, and considers the vulnerability of second strike forces. The Report concludes with a diagrammatic figure contrasting nuclear deterrence attributes of cruise and ballistic missiles, showing how as the perception of the threat of attack rises, the risks of attack are mitigated by increasing the readiness of deterrent forces.[10]: 58 

Retirement

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After retiring from his active role in the Royal Navy, John Gower published numerous articles in strategic outlets that address nuclear deterrence and existential risk mitigation. He published with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists,[11] BASIC,[12] the Council on Strategic Risks,[13] the Nautilus Institute,[14] and the Carnegie Endowment.[15] He gave public lectures, such as a Fireside Chat with the Centre for Effective Altruism,[16] and a participated in panel discussions, including on nuclear risk.[17]

Gower supported a Code of Nuclear Responsibility[18] that outlined 10 commitments to ensuring the stability of nuclear deterrence. These tenets entail: restraint, relevance, reassurance, readiness, reciprocity, and reduction.[19][20] He also cautioned against the nuclear warfighting posture of nuclear deterrence, which is the status quo for the United States.[21] In his article, "The Dangerous Illogic of Twenty-First-Century Deterrence Through Planning for Nuclear Warfighting,"[22][23][24] he critiques the United States Nuclear Posture Review's strategic posture of countering nonnuclear attacks with nuclear retaliation, and provides an alternative path. Gower assessed the UK's nuclear command and control systems.[25]

Personal life

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Gower married Diana Steven, daughter of a Naval Officer, in 1986. They met when both joined the University Officers' Training Corps. The couple had two sons and a daughter. Gower's hobbies included poetry writing, cycling, and motorcycling.[1] He is remembered for having cycled to formal dinners in London dressed in full senior officer's attire. John Gower's lifetime contributions and achievements have been acknowledged by the European Leadership Network,[26] the Australian Naval Institute,[1] the Council on Strategic Risks,[27] as well as the Times.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary: RADM John Gower". Australian Naval Institute. 18 February 2024.
  2. ^ "No. 49496". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 October 1983. p. 12932.
  3. ^ "No. 49460". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 August 1983. p. 11419..
  4. ^ "No. 53724". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 1994. p. 9603.
  5. ^ "No. 55155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1998. p. 5.
  6. ^ "No. 55728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 2000. p. 217.
  7. ^ "No. 59979". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 2011. p. 22815.
  8. ^ "John Gower (1960–2024)". European Leadership Network.
  9. ^ "Release of information" (PDF). Ministry of Defense Navy Command Headquarters. 13 October 2014.
  10. ^ a b c d e John Gower (16 July 2013). "Trident Alternatives Review" (PDF). Cabinet Office.
  11. ^ Gower, John (21 October 2022). "Rhetoric in Ukraine has reinforced the fallacy of limited nuclear exchange". Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
  12. ^ "Rear Admiral John Gower". BASIC. 10 November 2021.
  13. ^ Gower, John (28 March 2023). "Briefer: Russian Nuclear Weapons and Belarus: NATO Should Continue to Stand Steady". Council on Strategic Risks.
  14. ^ Gower, John (12 September 2019). "United Kingdom: Nuclear Weapon Command, Control, and Communications". Nautilus Institute.
  15. ^ "John Gower". Carnegie Endowment.
  16. ^ "Fireside chat: Rear Admiral John Gower | John Gower | EAG London 23". youtube.com.
  17. ^ "Panel on nuclear risk | Rear Admiral John Gower, Patricia Lewis, Paul Ingram | EAG London 23". youtube.com. 28 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Preventing Catastrophic Nuclear Risks and Exploring the Future of Arms Control". Council on Strategic Risks. April 2021.
  19. ^ Gower, John (22 October 2019). "Improving Nuclear Strategic Stability Through a Responsibility-Based Approach" (PDF). Council on Strategic Risks.
  20. ^ Gower, John (19 April 2021). "A Practical Strategy for Nuclear Risk Reduction and Disarmament: Fulfilling the Code of Nuclear Responsibility" (PDF). Council on Strategic Risks.
  21. ^ Kroenig, Mathew (2018). the Logic of American Nuclear Strategy: Why Strategic Superiority Matters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  22. ^ Gower, John (6 March 2018). "The Dangerous Illogic of Twenty-First-Century Deterrence Through Planning for Nuclear Warfighting". carnegieendowment.org. Oxford.
  23. ^ Lieber, Keir A.; Press, Daryl G. (2020). The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution: Power Politics in the Atomic Age. London: Cornell University Press.
  24. ^ Amadae, S.M. (2016). "Deterrence". Prisoners of Reason: Game Theory and Neoliberal Political Economy (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–144.
  25. ^ Gower, John (15 August 2019). "United Kingdom: Nuclear Weapon Command, Control, and Communications" (PDF). Technology for Global Security.
  26. ^ "John Gower(1960–2024)". European Leadership Network.
  27. ^ "Rear Admiral John Gower, CB OBE". Council on Strategic Risks. 8 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Rear-Admiral John Gower obituary". Times. 14 February 2024.
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