Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Davyd Rhys Thomas, (born 2 May 1956) is a retired senior officer in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

Naval career

Davyd Rhys Thomas was born on 2 May 1956 in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

, and joined the

College from that city in 1974. After gaining a Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate in 1978, he served as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of HMAS ''Aware'', a Darwin-based patrol boat. Thomas was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1979, during which time he commenced his warfare training, and served on HMAS ''Brisbane''. A short stint on the staff at the RAN Apprentice Training Establishment, prior to professional warfare specialist training in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, followed in 1983. Upon his return to Australia, Thomas served as the operations officer on HMAS ''Vampire'', and later on HMAS ''Perth'' as Gunnery Officer. He then completed the RAN Staff Course in 1987, and was subsequently employed as the surface weapons trials officer at the RAN's Test and Evaluation Centre in Sydney. Thomas was then posted as executive officer of HMAS ''Adelaide'', and participated in the first RAN contingent to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

in 1990, as part of

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

; he was promoted to commander in December 1990. He then served in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

as the operations officer at Fleet Base West. In September 1994, Thomas assumed command of HMAS ''Darwin'', based on the West Coast. In the

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

Honour's List of 1997, Thomas was awarded the Conspicuous Service CrossIt's an Honour
– Conspicuous Service Cross – 26 January 1997 and was promoted to captain in July of the same year. March 1999 saw him posted as Director of Naval Officers' Postings, until assuming command of HMAS ''Newcastle'' in March 2001. As the commanding officer of ''Newcastle'' during

Operation Slipper The Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan (2001-present), war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015–2021). Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the force ...

in the

, Thomas conducted maritime interdiction in support of coalition forces enforcing

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

sanctions against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. For this he was awarded a

Commendation for Distinguished Service Commendation ceremony was a formal ceremony that evolved during the early medieval period to create a bond between a lord and his fighting man. Commendation may also refer to: * the placing of an ecclesiastical benefice ''in commendam'' * ''Ulmus ...

in June 2003.It's an Honour
– Commendation for Distinguished Service – 9 June 2003
Citation: ''For distinguished performance of duty as the Commanding Officer, HMAS NEWCASTLE, in the

during Operation SLIPPER.'' He was promoted to the rank of

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

and made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in mid-2002 for "exceptional service to the Royal Australian Navy".It's an Honour
– Member of the Order of Australia – 10 June 2002
Citation: ''For exceptional service to the Royal Australian Navy as a senior Naval Officer through personal commitment and dedication to professional excellence.'' He later assumed the position of Commodore Flotillas and Commander Deployable Joint Force Headquarters (Maritime) in February 2004. Thomas was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

and appointed to the position of Maritime Commander Australia (MCAUST) in July 2005; in 2007 this position was renamed

Commander Australian Fleet The Fleet Command is responsible for the command, operations, readiness, training and force generation of all ships, submarines, aircraft squadrons, diving teams, and shore establishments of the Royal Australian Navy. Fleet Command is headquarte ...

(COMAUSFLT). On 3 August 2007, Thomas assumed command of the

Australian Defence College The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: * the War College, * the Australian Defence Force Training Cent ...

, which on 14 January 2008 became Joint Education, Training and Warfare (JETW) Command (which encompasses the Australian Defence College Headquarters, the Australian Defence Force Academy, the Australian Command and Staff College, the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies and the ADF Warfare Centre). Thomas assumed the duties of Deputy Chief of Navy (DCN) on 6 June 2008. In the Australia Day Honours List of 2009, Thomas was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for his service as Commodore Flotillas, Maritime Commander Australia, Commander Australian Fleet and Commander, Australian Defence College.It's an Honour
– Officer of the Order of Australia – 26 January 2009 He relinquished the post of DCN on 18 February 2011 to Rear Admiral Trevor Jones.

Honours and awards

References

External links

Official BiographyOfficial photocopyright
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Davyd 1956 births Military personnel from New South Wales Australian military personnel of the Gulf War Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Commanders Australian Fleet Deputy chiefs of Navy (Australia) Living people Officers of the Order of Australia People from Newcastle, New South Wales Recipients of the Commendation for Distinguished Service Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia) Royal Australian Navy admirals