Robert Peter Bauer (born 11 November 1962) is an

Lieutenant admiral Lieutenant admiral () is a senior naval military rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The rank is a four-star rank, senior to a vice-admiral () and equivalent to admiral in most foreign navies. It is used whenever the Dutch Chief of Defence is f ...

in the Royal Netherlands Navy, currently serving as the Chair of the NATO Military Committee since June 2021. He previously served as

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

(

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Commandant der Strijdkrachten'') from October 2017 to April 2021, and as the Vice Chief of Defence of the

Armed forces of the Netherlands The Netherlands Armed Forces ( nl, Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the Royal Netherlands A ...

from 1 September 2015 to 13 July 2017.

Naval career

Bauer entered the Royal Netherlands Navy through the

Royal Naval College Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

in 1981 until commissioned as a naval commander in 1984. He also completed the Advanced Strategic and General Studies Programme in 1998. Bauer commanded the HNLMS ''De Ruyter'', a De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command frigate in 2005 to 2007. His command also includes the operational deployment in the Mediterranean with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 as part of the NATO Response Force (

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral benefi ...

). He was deployed in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

in 2006 as the Deputy Commander of Task Force 150 in the Operation Enduring Freedom. He also commanded the HNLMS ''Johan de Witt'', a

Landing Platform Dock An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently oper ...

(LPD) amphibious warfare ship, in 2010 to 2011. Bauer was promoted to commodore in 2011 and appointed as Deputy Director of Plans for Operational Policy and Innovation, focusing on the future defense fields of The Netherlands. In 2012, he was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

and appointed as Director of Plans. He was also a member of the Council for Defence Research and Development, the National Council for Cyber Security and the Netherlands Coast Guard Council. He also served as the Chairman of the Defence Business Platform and also became a board member of the National Committee for 4 and 5 May. Bauer was appointed Vice Chief of Defence, and promoted to vice admiral, on 22 September 2015. In July 2017, he handed his position as the Vice Chief of Defence to Lieutenant General

Martin Wijnen Martin Wijnen (born 1966) is a Dutch Lieutenant-general (RNLA Engineers). He was the Commander of 43 Mechanized Brigade and is now the Vice Chief of defence. Biography After graduating from the Royal Military Academy in civil engineering, ...

, in order to prepare for his post as Chief of Defence. He became the

on 5 October 2017, after the resignation of Tom Middendorp and then-

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in the aftermath of the death of two Dutch soldiers in a training accident in Mali. He was promoted to

lieutenant admiral Lieutenant admiral () is a senior naval military rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The rank is a four-star rank, senior to a vice-admiral () and equivalent to admiral in most foreign navies. It is used whenever the Dutch Chief of Defence is f ...

– the highest rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy, equivalent to a NATO OF-9 flag officer (i.e., four stars) – on October 5, 2017. On 9 October 2020, Bauer was elected by various Allied Chiefs of Defence from the

NATO Military Committee The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Military Committee (NATO MC) is the body of NATO that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representative ...

as the new

Chairman of the NATO Military Committee The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 30-nation alliance and p ...

, the senior military adviser to the

Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...

. He took up the position replacing Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, on 25 June 2021.

Awards and Badges

Commander,

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

Officer's Cross ( Operation Enduring Freedom) * NED Marinemedaille Bar

Royal Netherlands Navy service medal * NATO Medal ribbon (Article 5)

NATO Medal The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is manufactured by Eekelers-Centini Intl, of Hemiksem, Belgium. ...

(

, Article 5) * Commander, Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg * Officier,

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Grand Officer, Order of the Crown * LTU Order for Merits to Lithuania - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross,

Order for Merits to Lithuania The Order for Merits to Lithuania ( lt, Ordinas Už nuopelnus Lietuvai) is an award, presented by the President of Lithuania, which may be conferred on the citizens of Lithuania and foreign nationals for distinguished services promoting name of Li ...

(Variant: Public Service and Cross-Border Relations) * Dutch Commemorative Medal for Peace Keeping Operations Ribbon

Commemorative Medal for Peace Operations * NLD Hogere Defensie Vorming HDV

Golden Sun of the Higher Defence Command Formation * Maritime Air Controller Skill Badge

Personal life

Bauer comes from a family of engineers. He is married to Maaike Bauer and they have three children.

References

External links

@CMC_NATO at Twitter

Chief of Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Rob 1962 births Living people Chiefs of Defence (Netherlands) Royal Netherlands Naval College alumni Royal Netherlands Navy admirals Royal Netherlands Navy officers Dutch military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military personnel from Amsterdam