The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed Forces unless either the Chief or Vice Chief of the Defence Staff are naval officers. Admiral Ben Key was appointed First Sea Lord in November 2021.
Admiral of the Fleet Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce, is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who now sits as a crossbench member of the House of Lords.
Admiral of the Fleet Peter John Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton, was a senior Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Second World War as gunnery officer in a cruiser operating on the Western Approaches and in the North Sea taking part in the Norwegian Campaign, then in a cruiser taking part in the Arctic convoys and finally in a battleship operating in the Eastern Fleet. After the War he commanded a destroyer and then an aircraft carrier. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff and then Chief of the Defence Staff in early 1970s. In the latter role he gave the final commitment to Project Chevaline, the Polaris missile improvement programme. He went on to be Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
General Raymond Roland Joseph Henault, is a retired Canadian Air Force officer. He was the Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada from June 28, 2001. On November 7, 2004, Henault was voted to become the next chairman of NATO's military committee, a position he held until 2008, when he retired.
The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a Principal Staff Officer and a chief military adviser to the civilian government led by elected Prime minister of Pakistan and his/her National Security Council. The role of advisement is also extended to the elected members in the bicameral Parliament and the Ministry of Defence. The Chairman leads the meetings and coordinates the combined efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), comprising the Chairman, the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff, Commandant of Marines, DG Coast Guards and Strategic Plans Division, and commanders of the service branches in the paramilitary command.
Admiral Sir John Cunningham Kirkwood "Jock" Slater, is a retired Royal Navy officer. He commanded a minesweeper, a frigate and then a destroyer before taking over the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and then achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1995 to 1998: in that capacity he played a key role in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review carried out by the Labour Government that had come to power a year earlier.
Admiral Sir Ian David Graham Garnett, is a retired Royal Navy officer. He served as the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 2005 to 2008.
The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and is the principal military advisor to the National Security Committee and the Minister for Defence. The current Chief of the Defence Force is General Angus Campbell, who took office on 6 July 2018.
A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army general, or in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure, air chief marshal. This designation is also used by some armed forces that are not North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members.
Admiral Arun Prakash, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM is a former Flag Officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Chief of the Naval Staff from 31 July 2004 to 31 October 2006 and as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee from 31 January 2005 to 31 October 2006. He is one of India's most decorated naval officers.
The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 30-nation alliance and principal advisor to the Secretary General. The Chair is one of the foremost officials of NATO, next to the Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The CMC is assisted by the Deputy Chair, who advises the Deputy Secretary General and serves as the principal agent for coordination of nuclear, biological, and chemical matters for the Military Committee. Originally titled the Chairman, the post was redesignated in 2021 to reflect the gender-neutrality of the post.
Giampaolo Di Paola is an Italian naval officer who served in the government of Italy as minister of defense from November 2011 to April 2013. He was the Italian military's Chief of Staff from 10 March 2004 to 8 February 2008 and served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2008 to 2011.
Rear Admiral Sir Leslie (William) Townsend was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Defence Services Secretary from 1979 to 1982.
Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed SiroheyNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt, is a retired four-star rank admiral, strategist, and a memoirist who is currently tenuring his fellowship at the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Knud Bartels is a retired Danish general, who served as the Danish Chief of Defence between 2009 and 2011 and was Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2011 to 2015.
Rear Admiral Allan Kendall du Toit, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Australia's Military Representative to NATO and the European Union from 2013 until his retirement in 2016. Du Toit previously served as the Commander Border Protection Command until being succeeded by Rear Admiral Tim Barrett in February 2010.
Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC is a retired Indian naval officer who served as the 23rd Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He assumed the office on 31 May 2016 after Admiral Robin K. Dhowan and demitted office three years later on 31 May 2019. During this time, he also served as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and Honorary Aide-de-Camp to the President of India.
Scott Edward George Bishop is a Canadian naval flag officer serving as a Vice Admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy. He presently serves as Canada's Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee, and was commander of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command from 2016 to 2021.
Admiral Antonis Antoniadis is a Greek naval officer, who served as Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff in 2002–2005.
Robert Peter Bauer is a lieutenant admiral in the Royal Netherlands Navy, currently serving as the Chair of the NATO Military Committee since June 2021. He previously served as Chief of Defence from October 2017 to April 2021, and as the Vice Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 1 September 2015 to 13 July 2017.
Italy 
Italian Navy 
