Major General Garry Stuart Robison, (born 10 June 1958) is a retired

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

officer who served as

Commandant-General Royal Marines 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 to be ...

and

Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces 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 to be ...

from 2006 to 2009.

Early life

Robison was born in Yorkshire, the son of George Desmond Robison and Carole Margaret Robison (née Pugh).''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

2010'',

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, 2010, He was educated at Bemrose Grammar School.

Military career

Robison joined the

in September 1976 and underwent officer training. He served in

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

, Comacchio Company, and on the staff of the

Commando Training Centre Royal Marines Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) is the principal military training centre for the Royal Marines. It is situated near the villages of Lympstone and Exton, between the city of Exeter, and the town of Exmouth in Devon, England. Hi ...

. He qualified as a Physical Training and Sports Officer and taught in that capacity at

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

. In 1977 and 1978 he made two Emergency tours of duty in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. From 1988 to 1989, Robison commanded Bravo Company in

40 Commando 40 Commando RM is a battalion-sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within UK Commando Force, the principal Commando formation, under the operational command of the Fleet Commander. Their barracks are at Norton Manor ...

, before being selected to attend the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

. After a number of staff appointments during the 1990s, Robison became the Royal Marine member on the Directing Staff at Camberley, and then at the

Joint Services Command and Staff College Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British Armed Forces academic establishment that provides training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and offic ...

upon its formation in 1997. In 1998–1999, he read for a

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

. He was then appointed Commanding Officer of

in July 1999. During his 18-month tenure of command, 45 Commando undertook environmental training in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

and an operational tour as the Pristina Battlegroup under the UN Peacekeeping Operation in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. Following this Robison was appointed to staff positions in the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

before being assigned to Iraq for six months as Deputy Commander of the

Iraq Survey Group The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was a fact-finding mission sent by the multinational force in Iraq to discover the extent of Saddam Husseins' Weapons of Mass Destruction program that had been the main ostensible reason for the invasion in 2003. Its ...

in 2003. From 2004 to 2006 he was Commandant of the Commando Training Centre, before being promoted major general on 29 June 2006, and appointed

, the commander of Britain's amphibious warfare capability. During this period he undertook a 12-month operational deployment to Afghanistan as the Deputy Commander (Stability) in the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

based in Kabul. Robison completed his appointment as Commandant-General in 2009; his final military appointment was as Chief of Staff (Capability) on the staff of Commander-in-Chief Fleet Headquarters. Robison was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Derby in January 2011. Robison retired from the Royal Marines in June 2011 and joined

Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia in the Washington metropolitan area. , the '' E ...

. He went on to be the security manager for Bechtel.

Personal life

Robison married Bridget Anne (née Clark) in 1982, with whom he had one son and two daughters. He was Chairman of Combined Services Cricket, President of Royal Navy Cricket, Vice President of Royal Navy Football, President of Royal Marines Cricket, and President of Royal Marines Football. He remains an Honorary Vice President of Royal Navy

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and an Honorary Vice President of Royal Navy Football. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers.

Footnotes

Reference list

*''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Robison, Garry 1958 births Living people Military personnel from Yorkshire People educated at Bemrose School Free Foresters cricketers Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Royal Marines major generals Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) 20th-century Royal Marines personnel 21st-century Royal Marines personnel