Rear Admiral(ret) Robert William Higgs (7 July 1957,

King Williams Town Qonce, formerly King William's Town, is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London. It has a population of around 35,000 inhab ...

) is a former-

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...

officer, who served as Chief of Naval Staff from 1 November 2010 to 31 August 2016.

Military career

After matriculating from

Grey High School Grey High School is a State school, semi-private English-medium high school (grades 8 to 12) for boys situated in the suburb of Mill Park in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the top sporting schools in the coun ...

in Port Elizabeth, he joined the Navy in 1976 as a midshipman, graduating from the

South African Naval College The South African Naval College provides naval officer training to the South African Navy and is one of three officer training institutions within the South African National Defence Force, the equivalent of the Air Force Gymnasium and the Army Gy ...

in 1978 before attending 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 militar ...

, obtaining a BMil (BSc). He qualified as a mine clearance officer before commanding He then qualified in submarines, becoming First Lieutenant on (Formerly ) in 1989 and Officer Commanding of the (Formerly ) in 1991. In 1994 he became the first SA Navy officer to attend the

US Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

. He then obtained a master's degree in International Relations from

Salve Regina University Salve Regina University is a private coeducational Roman Catholic university in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The univer ...

in May 1996. In 1996 he was promoted to captain, serving as the Director of Naval Force Planning and Director of Naval Strategy. In 1998 he was appointed the Naval attache to Washington. Defense

In 2001 he was appointed as SSO Naval Career Management, followed by SSO Navy Public Relations. In February 2005 he was promoted to rear admiral (jg) and appointed as Director of Maritime Warfare. He was appointed Chief of Fleet Staff in April 2007 before being appointed Flag Officer Fleet in April 2008 and promoted to rear admiral. On 1 November 2010 he became Chief of Naval Staff.

Awards and decorations

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Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgs, Robert W. People from Qonce Military personnel from the Eastern Cape 1957 births Naval War College alumni South African admirals Living people Submarine commanders Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Alumni of Grey High School