Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

David George Snelson, is a former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer who served as Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces from 2002 to 2004.

Naval career

Snelson joined the Royal Navy in 1969. He first became

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

of the destroyer in 1987, and again as Captain 3rd Destroyer Squadron in 1997.Ark Royal goes home after refit
BBC News, 28 August 2001 He then became Director of Naval Operations and Trade under the Naval Staff at 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 ...

in 1998 and Director of Navy Staff Duties in 1999 before commanding the aircraft carrier in 2001. He was appointed Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces in 2002. In March 2003 he was the Royal Navy Commander for

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

, during which he led maritime operations for the

Invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

from his headquarters ashore in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. He went on to be Chief of Staff (Warfare) for the Fleet in 2004 before retiring in 2006. After leaving the Navy Snelson served as Chief Harbour Master for the

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and it ...

between 2006 and 2011. He then served as a Non Executive Director for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Port of Milford Haven between 2011 and 2018. In 2013 Snelson was elected as an Elder Brother of the Corporation of Trinity House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snelson, David 1951 births Companions of the Order of the Bath Living people Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War Members of Trinity House