Vice Admiral Johan Retief was the Chief of the South African Navy from 2000 to 2005. Retief was born on 20 March 1946 in Cape Town, matriculating at

Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck Hoërskool Jan van Riebieck is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in Gardens in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It was founded in 1926 by J.J. Jordaan. Overview The school is situated at t ...

in Cape Town.

Career

He attended the

South African Military Academy The South African Military Academy is based on similar principles to that of the military academy system of the United States (United States Military Academy United States Naval Academy United States Air Force Academy). The academy is a military ...

after completing his Citizen Force training and graduated with a Bachelor of Military Science degree in 1967 and was judged the Best Student in that year. He was appointed an

Anti-Submarine Warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typi ...

Officer and was selected to attend the Torpedo and Anti-Submarine course at

HMS Vernon Two ships and a training establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Vernon'', possibly after Admiral Edward Vernon: * was a 14-gun armed ship listed between 1781 and 1782. * was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1832. She became ...

in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. He joined the Strike Craft Flotilla, initially as training officer at the inception of the project in 1975. He was the Commissioning Captain of and attended the Naval Command and Staff Course in 1981. After Completing a year as Staff Officer Surface Warfare, he was appointed Director Naval Operations in 1985. After attending the Joint Staff Course in 1988 he served as Senior Staff Officer Research at the Intelligence Division and then as Military Secretary to the Minister of Defence General

Magnus Malan General Magnus André de Merindol Malan (30 January 1930 – 18 July 2011) was a South African military figure and politician during the last years of apartheid in South Africa. He served respectively as Minister of Defence in the cabinet of ...

and Ministers

Roelf Meyer Roelof Petrus Meyer (born 16 July 1947) is a South African politician and businessman. Originally a member of the National Party, he is known for his prominent role in the negotiations to end the apartheid system in South Africa. He later co-f ...

and

Gene Louw Eugene "Gene" Louw, (15 July 1931 – 12 October 2015), was a South African politician, member of the National Party (South Africa), National Party, MP for Durbanville and Paarl, who was administrator for Cape Province (1979–1989), Ministe ...

. He was promoted to rear admiral and appointed as Chief of Naval Operations with effect from 1 January 1993 until 30 April 1996, after which he served as Inspector-General of the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

. He was promoted to vice admiral and appointed Chief of the South African Navy on 1 November 2000.

Awards and decorations

Adm Retief was awarded the following: * * * * * * * * * * * * * Order of Naval Merit - Grand Officer (Brazil) - ribbon bar

References

South African admirals Afrikaner people 1946 births Living people People from Cape Town Chiefs of the South African Navy Alumni of Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub

Career

Awards and decorations

See also

References