Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Sir Robert Alan Fry, (born 6 April 1951)

Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John De ...

''Lt-Gen Sir Robert Fry, KCB, CBE''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 served as a

Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

for over 30 years and was involved in military operations in Northern Ireland, the Gulf,

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and Afghanistan. After retirement from military service he went into private business and, in 2007, became CEO of Hewlett Packard's defence and security business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2010 he was appointed chairman of McKinney Rogers International and subsequently, in 2011, Albany Associates.

Early career

After taking a degree in economics at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

and working for a period in commerce in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Fry joined the Royal Marines in 1973.

The Standard (Kenya) ''The Standard'' is one of the largest newspapers in Kenya with a 48% market share. It is the oldest newspaper in the country and is owned by The Standard Group, which also runs the Kenya Television Network (KTN), Radio Maisha, ''The Nairobian ...

, 8 February 2011
''Navigating rough patches with military precision''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 His early career was spent at regimental and special duties. Attendance at the Army Staff College was followed by tours in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

and Directorate of Special Forces, a sequence punctuated in the 1986/7 academic year when he studied for an MA (Distinction) in War Studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Senior military career

In 1989, Fry was appointed Chief of staff, HQ 3 Commando Brigade, and subsequently took part in

Operation Haven Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern ...

in Northern Iraq. This was followed by a return to the Ministry of Defence before taking command of

45 Commando 45 Commando Royal Marines (pronounced "four-five commando") is a battalion sized unit of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of the ...

in 1995. In 1997, in the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

, he became the Director of Naval Staff Duties in the Ministry of Defence, after which he took over command of

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from ...

in 1999 and deployed to

(CBE).Chief Executive.net, 14 September 2010: ''From BDUs to Pinstripes''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 He was appointed

Commandant General Royal Marines The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not t ...

in 2001, and a year later he took up the job of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces, in which capacity he deployed as the UK Maritime Component Commander for operations in the Gulf. He assumed the post of Chief of Staff at the

Permanent Joint Headquarters The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headquar ...

in Northwood in May 2002 and remained in the job throughout the planning for and conduct of operations against

. He took over the job of Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) in July 2003. In 2004, the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COS) directed Fry to develop a plan to support NATO and switch British forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, where they had been involved since 2001. The plan had to accommodate the difficulty of concurrent operations in two theatres but was judged necessary in order to prevent a failure of the Alliance and the loss of Southern Afghanistan to Taliban control. He was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq in March 2006 and retired in 2007.

Later career

From July 2007 to March 2010, Fry served as CEO of HP Enterprise Services Defence & Security UK,DueDil: ''Sir Robert Alan Fry – Directorships''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 where he ran HPs $1.5 billion Europe, Africa and Middle East defence business. In January 2010 he was appointed chairman of the business consultancy McKinney Rogers International and in 2011 became chairman of Albany Associates. He remains an advisor to HP and a number of other companies in the defence and banking sectors. Fry is an established essayist and occasional columnist. He is also a visiting professor at Reading University, a visiting fellow at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and a visiting professor at

Department of War Studies. He is also a member the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank ...

executive council and a trustee of Help for Heroes.

Awards

Early on in his career Fry was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. Later on he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for services as commander of a multinational brigade in Kosovo in 1998. In July 2003, he was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

for his services as Director of Operations in the MoD, and was made Officer of the United States'

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

in 2006 for his final operational tour as Deputy Commanding General of coalition forces in Iraq. In 2012 he became the first non US recipient of the USMC ''Semper Fidelis'' award and in 2014 received an honorary doctorate (LLD) from the University of Bath.

Family

He is married to Liz and they have two daughters. He maintains his military links as colonel of the

Special Reconnaissance Regiment The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a special reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). The regiment conducts a wide range of classified activitie ...

, and is a Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Robert 1951 births Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Living people Alumni of the University of Bath Alumni of King's College London Royal Marines generals Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the Gulf War Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War People from Penarth