Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Jonathon Band (born 2 February 1950) is a retired

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 who was the

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

and Chief of the Naval Staff from 2006 to 2009. Before serving as First Sea Lord he was Commander-in-Chief Fleet. Since becoming First Sea Lord, Band had been a firm advocate of the creation of new ships to meet new threats and maintain the status of the Royal Navy as one of the world's leading naval forces.

Early life

Born the son of Victor and Muriel Band, Band attended two independent schools: Brambletye School, a preparatory school, in Ashurst Wood,

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, and from the age of thirteen, Haileybury and Imperial Service College.''

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'', A & C Black, 2010, He entered the

in 1967, before undertaking sea training in the Far East. He returned to the UK on an undergraduate programme and studied for three years at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, gaining a BA in 1972.

Early naval career

After graduating from Exeter, Band served in junior officer appointments in HMS ''Lewiston'' and HMS ''Rothesay''. He was confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1971. In the mid 1970s, he undertook an exchange programme with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and served on board the guided missile cruiser, USS ''Belknap'', which is now no longer in service. He 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 ...

on 30 January 1974. Following warfare training in 1976 and 1977 he served for two years as the principal warfare officer and operations officer on board the frigate HMS ''Eskimo''. This appointment included deployments to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

. From 1979 and 1981 he commanded the minesweeper HMS ''Soberton'' for nearly two years in the Fishery Protection Squadron around the British coast. Between 1981 and 1983 he also served as flag lieutenant to Commander-in-Chief Fleet, a period where he was involved in the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. Promoted to the rank of

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 1983, he assumed command of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

HMS ''Phoebe''. The frigate operated in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

waters, at the time of the RN’s first operational experience with surface ship towed passive sonar. In 1985 he attended the Joint Services Defence College and was soon appointed to the Defence Staff in the Ministry of Defence in the Directorate of Defence Policy. 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 30 June 1988, he left the Directorate of Policy and commanded HMS ''Norfolk''. He was also responsible for helping re-equip 9th Frigate Squadron, the first Type 23 frigate squadron. HMS Illustrious 1

In 1991, he became the Assistant Director Navy Plans and Programmes in the Ministry of Defence, a period that saw the implementation of the "

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces ...

" Review. In 1994 he was a member of the Defence Costs Study (Front Line First) Secretariat. He was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 9 April 1995. His last sea command was that of HMS ''Illustrious'', the aircraft carrier, between 1995 and 1997. The period included two operational deployments to the Adriatic in which he and ''Illustrious'' supported the intervention of the U.S., the

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 ...

, and

operations in Bosnia. In May 1997 he was elevated to flag rank and 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 ...

. He returned to the Ministry of Defence as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff. This appointment included the period of the Strategic Defence Review, in which he was heavily involved in the Royal Navy's contributions to the review. He left this appointment in December 1999 and assumed the position of team leader of the Defence Education and Training Study in January 2000 with the rank of

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Commander-in-Chief Fleet

After a tour as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet from May 2001, Band was promoted to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

and served as Commander-in-Chief Fleet, responsible for the preparation and operation of the ships,

submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...

and aircraft of the Royal Navy based at Northwood between August 2002 and November 2005. In that post he was involved in the planning of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and also had a

command as Commander Allied Maritime Component Command, Northwood. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2002 New Year Honours. In 2003 he spoke out for the crew of , for their efforts on achieving the longest deployment time of a submarine. ''Turbulent'' was away for more than ten months and he stated "They are a huge credit. The submarine has done the equivalent of going twice around the world." In March 2004 he spent several weeks touring naval facilities and ships in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, including

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

. In the Trafalgar 200 celebrations, celebrating the British victory at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

in 1805, Band attended the ceremonies and the fleet review in the UK. In an interview, he stated:

First Sea Lord

In February 2006 Band took over the positions of

and Chief of Naval Staff from Admiral Sir Alan West and in a press statement set out the Navy's priorities in the 21st century. Upon taking up the post of

he became the professional head of the

. Band is a proponent for the Sustained surface combatant capability and the creation of new ships to maintain the Royal Navy as one of the world's leading navies. These include the new Type 45 destroyer and the Royal Navy CVF programme, designed to replace the UK's current aircraft carriers. In June 2006 he went on a fact finding and diplomatic mission to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

where he met the head of the Pakistan Air Force, the head of the Pakistan Navy and the Army Chief of Staff. On the following day he met with the President of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa. In November 2006 he attended a press conference on HMS ''Illustrious'', which was moored in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

. He announced that the 25th anniversary of the

would be commemorated across 8,000 miles and four time zones – in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Pangbourne and the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

– from 14 to 17 June 2007. In February 2007, at a journalists' briefing, he warned that the Royal Navy needed another £1 billion to meet future foreign policy demands and appealed to the Government for additional funding, a third of the navy's annual operating budget, to spend on building more modern ships. In a later interview with the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' he said that an increase of more than 30 per cent in the fleet's day-to-day budget was necessary to pay for better sailors' wages, the running of ships and improved accommodation. He threatened to resign as head of the navy if the Government failed to agree to pay for two new aircraft carriers – the Royal Navy CVF programme, which it had previously promised. In May 2007 the Government gave the £3.9bn go-ahead for the new aircraft carriers. Band said: In 2007 he was awarded an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in law from the University of Portsmouth. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 2008 Birthday Honours and succeeded by Mark Stanhope as First Sea Lord on 21 July 2009.

Later professional life

Band became a Deputy Lieutenant of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

on 27 November 2009 and a non-executive director of the cruise company Carnival Corporation & plc, in April 2010. Band has also become a non-executive director of the British arm of the American defence contractor

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

who produce the F35-B aircraft which will be utilized on the new aircraft carriers. He is also a defence adviser at British defence firm

Babcock International Babcock International Group plc is a British aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London, England. It specialises in managing complex assets and infrastructure. Although the company has civil contracts, its main b ...

and a non-executive director of military consultancy Survitec Group. He is also a Younger Brother of Trinity House and a liveryman of the Shipwrights' Company. Band was a patron of the International Scott Centenary Expedition 2012; its aim was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Scott's race to the South Pole and the subsequent deaths of the polar party on the

Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between high ...

Personal life

In 1979 he married Sarah Asbury: they have two daughters and live in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Band, Jonathon 1950 births Alumni of the University of Exeter British business executives Deputy lieutenants of Hampshire First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Living people Lockheed Martin people People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College People from Southsea Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Falklands War Members of Trinity House