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 ' ...

Inga Jane Kennedy, (born 7 September 1962) is a Scottish nurse and retired senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer. From 2017 to 2021, she served as Head of the

Royal Navy Medical Service The Royal Navy Medical Service (RNMS), also termed the Royal Naval Medical Service is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for providing 'comprehensive healthcare to ships, submarines and Royal Marine personnel at sea and on land'. It inc ...

and Medical Director General (Naval). She was the most senior female officer in the Royal Navy by year of promotion. She previously served as Matron-in-Chief of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (2011–2015) and Inspector General of the

Defence Medical Services The Defence Medical Services (DMS) is an umbrella organisation within the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom. It describes the Royal Navy Medical Service, Army Medical Services and RAF Medical Services. The Defence Medical Services Group ...

(2015–2017).

Early life and education

Kennedy was born on 7 September 1962 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Scotland to Rhoda and Richard Kennedy. She studied nursing at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. She also studied for a

postgraduate diploma fILE:Prédio Pós Graduação IMECC Unicamp.jpg, The State University of Campinas, as well as many Brazilian universities, offer Postgraduate courses in Brazil A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PGD) is a postgraduat ...

at the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

Nursing career

Kennedy is a

Registered Nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...

(RN) and a Registered Midwife (RM). She worked as a nurse in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

(NHS) from 1980 to 2000.

Military service

Kennedy's military service began as a reservist: she joined the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

in 1987. From 1998 to 2000, she undertook full-time reserve service and was a Senior Midwife in the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar. In 2000, Kennedy moved from the reserves to join the regular Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS). She was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 30 June 2005. She served in Afghanistan at the Joint Forces Command in 2011. She was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 21 November 2011. From 2011 to 2015, she served as Matron-in-Chief (i.e. head) of the QARNNS. She was also Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff (Healthcare) at Navy Command Headquarters from 2012 to 2015. She was promoted to

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 ' ...

on 9 February 2015. From 2015 to 2017, she served as Inspector General of the

and was based at the Headquarters of the

Surgeon General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

. In this role, she was responsible for inspecting medical departments across the armed forces, be it a sick bay on a ship or a hospital in a foreign posting. In 2017, she was appointed Head of the Royal Naval Medical Service and Medical Director General (Naval). As such, she was also a member of the

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer currently to serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore estab ...

's Board of Management and serves as the medical adviser to the

Admiralty Board The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...

. Kennedy retired from the Royal Navy on 1 September 2021.

Personal life

In 2014, Kennedy married Mark Durkan.

Honours

In 2012, Kennedy was appointed an Honorary Nursing Sister to The Queen (QHNS). In the 2017 New Year Honours, she 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in recognition of her service with the Defence Medical Services. She is also a recipient of the

Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan The Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan was a British campaign medals, campaign medal awarded by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom for service by British Armed Forces personnel in support of t ...

, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal may refer to: * Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal (1897) * Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal ...

, the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal (for 10 years service in the reserve), and the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (for 15 years service in the regulars). In June 2021, Saga Cruises announced in a press release that Commodore Inga J. Kennedy CBE QHNS QARNNS, has been named godmother of Saga Cruises’ newest ship, the spirit of adventure. Kennedy has followed the footsteps of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, who was Godmother to sister ship Spirit of Discovery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Inga Jane Royal Navy commodores 1962 births Living people Scottish nurses Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Queen Margaret University Alumni of the University of Greenwich Scottish midwives National Health Service people British women nurses Royal Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Royal Navy Medical Service officers Military personnel from Aberdeen Health professionals from Aberdeen Royal Naval Reserve personnel Women's Royal Naval Service officers