The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the secretary of state for defence and the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The chief of the defence staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the ministry's senior civil servant. The Chief of Defence is the highest ranking officer to currently serve in the armed forces.
Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence, is a retired Royal Navy officer and husband of Anne, Princess Royal, the only sister of King Charles III. Laurence was equerry to the Queen from 1986 to 1989.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir David Benjamin Bathurst, is a former Royal Navy officer. After training as a pilot and qualifying as a helicopter instructor, Bathurst commanded a Naval Air Squadron and then two frigates before achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1993 to 1995: in that capacity he advised the British Government on the deployment of Naval Support including Sea Harriers during the Bosnian War.
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.
Vice Admiral Sir Ian Leslie Trower Hogg was a Royal Navy officer whose service extended from the late 1920s through to the early 1970s. He received several medals for his service as a navigator during the Second World War. From 1967 to 1970 he served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.
Vice-Admiral Sir Paul Kenneth Haddacks, KCB is a retired senior officer of the Royal Navy who served as Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 2005 to 2011.
Admiral Sir John Jeremy Black,, known as Jeremy Black or J. J. Black, was a senior Royal Navy officer. He commanded the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible during the Falklands War, and later served as Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command from 1989 until his retirement in 1991.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Beckwith Ashmore, was a senior Royal Navy officer. He saw active service in the Second World War and later commanded two frigates before achieving high command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the mid-1970s and in that role he advised the incoming Labour government on a major defence review and on the implications of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. He went on to be Chief of the Defence Staff, serving briefly in a caretaker capacity following the death of his predecessor.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Julian Robertson Oswald was a senior Royal Navy officer. After training as a gunnery specialist, Oswald commanded a frigate and then a destroyer before achieving higher command in the navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in the early 1990s. In that capacity he advised the British Government on the reduction in the size of the fleet under the Options for Change restructuring programme and on the deployment of Naval Support for the Gulf War in 1991: he also made the decision that members of the Women's Royal Naval Service should be allowed to serve in Royal Navy ships.
Vice Admiral Sir Adrian James Johns, is a former senior officer in the Royal Navy, serving as Second Sea Lord between 2005 and 2008. He was the Governor of Gibraltar between 2009 and 2013.
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, is a retired Royal Navy officer. After serving as a submarine commander, he commanded a frigate and then commanded an aircraft carrier on operational patrol off Sierra Leone. He went on to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and then Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff, the professional head of the Royal Navy, from July 2009 to April 2013. In this role he advised the British Government on the deployment of naval forces during operations around Libya. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Zambellas in April 2013.
Admiral Sir George Michael Zambellas, is a retired Royal Navy officer. He was the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from April 2013 until he handed over duties to Admiral Sir Philip Jones in April 2016.
Vice Admiral Sir Alan Michael Massey, KCB, CBE is a former senior officer in the Royal Navy who served as the Second Sea Lord.
Vice Admiral Sir Peter William Gretton was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was active in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War, and was a successful convoy escort commander. He eventually rose to become Fifth Sea Lord and retired as a vice admiral before entering university life as a bursar and academic.
Admiral Sir Eric James Patrick Brind, was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who served as the first Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe from 1951 to 1953.
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Jeffrey Ibbotson, is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet.
Admiral Sir Geoffrey John Audley Miles, KCB, KCSI was a senior Royal Navy admiral who served as Deputy Naval Commander, South East Asia Command under Lord Mountbatten during the Second World War, as the Senior British Representative on the Tripartite Naval Commission and as the last Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy of the unified Royal Indian Navy.
Admiral Sir Philip Andrew Jones, is a retired senior Royal Navy officer. After service in the South Atlantic in 1982 during the Falklands War, he commanded the frigates HMS Beaver and HMS Coventry. He went on to be Flag Officer, Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland, Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff before being appointed Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. Jones served as First Sea Lord from April 2016 to June 2019.
Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin, is a senior Royal Navy officer. Since November 2021, he is the 24th Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces, succeeding General Sir Nicholas Carter. Radakin also served as First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Naval Service from June 2019 to November 2021. He was Chief of Staff, Joint Forces Command, from 2016 to 2018, and the Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff from 2018 to 2019.
Admiral Sir Benjamin John Key, is a senior Royal Navy officer. He has served as First Sea Lord since November 2021. He has commanded HM Ships Sandown, Iron Duke and Lancaster, and deployed on operations to Kosovo and Iraq. He was appointed Fleet Commander in 2016, and the Chief of Joint Operations in 2019.
