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 ...

Stuart Campbell Mayer, (born 1965) is a retired senior officer of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

. He joined the navy via the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Creswell in 1984 and qualified as a Principal Warfare Officer in 1994. He commanded (2002–04), (2007–09) and the International Stabilisation Force (2009–10), and deployed on operations to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, East Timor, and the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

during 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 ...

. He served as

Commander Australian Fleet The Fleet Command is responsible for the command, operations, readiness, training and force generation of all ships, submarines, aircraft squadrons, diving teams, and shore establishments of the Royal Australian Navy. Fleet Command is headquarte ...

from 2014 to 2018, Head Force Design within the Vice Chief of Defence Force Group from 2018 to 2019, and Deputy Commander

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...

, based in South Korea, from 2019 to 2021. He retired from the navy in 2022 and was appointed a partner in

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

's consulting division.

Naval career

Early career

Mayer completed the Higher School Certificate in 1983 at

North Sydney Boys High School North Sydney Boys High School (abbreviated as NSBHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded, Single-sex school, single-sex, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary day school for boys, loc ...

. He joined the Royal Australian Naval College in 1984 as a seaman specialist, and on completion of initial training Mayer gained Bridge Watch-keeping Certificates on board and . Mayer completed training as an Air Intercept Controller and returned to sea in HMA ships and , including service aboard ''Sydney'' "as Air Intercept Control Officer and Boarding Officer during that ship's operational deployment to the

during the 1990–91

Gulf war , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

."Commodore Stuart Campbell Mayer, CSC, RAN – Combined Forces Maritime Component Commander
2012 In 1993 Mayer commenced training as a Principal Warfare Officer (Direction) and graduated with distinction in 1994. As Direction Officer, Mayer served aboard both and , undertaking a wide range of regional deployments and operations, including service as the Task Unit Operations Officer during Operation Stabilise – ADF operations in support of East Timorese independence. In January 2000 Mayer 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 ...

and posted to the United States as the first ADF Liaison officer to US Joint Forces Command based in Norfolk, Virginia. Mayer returned from the United States in mid-2002 and assumed command of HMAS ''Canberra'', continuing an association with that ship that included service in every rank from trainee to commanding officer. Mayer left HMAS ''Canberra'' in July 2004 and was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

and assumed the position of Chief Staff Officer (Operations) at Maritime Headquarters (MHQ) Australia in January 2005. While posted to MHQ, Mayer was seconded to the Australian Maritime Deployable HQ staff for duties as Commander Task Group 58.1 – Northern Arabian Gulf Maritime Security Operations Commander. Mayer was awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service for his "distinguished performance" in this role.Commendation for Distinguished Service
2006 Mayer returned to MHQ in October 2005, resuming duties as Chief Staff Officer (Operations). His "outstanding achievement" while with MHQ led to the award of a Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) in 2008.Conspicuous Service Cross
2008

Senior commands

In January 2007 Mayer attended the Australian Defence College and read for a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Strategic Studies. He assumed command of the frigate in December 2007 and completed deployments to exercise RIMPAC and to Southeast Asia as the Commander of the RAN Task Group. Mayer left ''Anzac'' in mid-2009, was promoted to commodore and appointed Commander of the multi-national International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in East Timor on 24 October 2009. The first non-army officer to hold this command, Mayer demonstrated "inspirational leadership and initiative, and outstanding dedication to duty in stable but fragile security environment" during his six-month deployment, for which he was awarded a Bar to his CSC and the East Timorese Medal of Merit. On Mayer's return to Australia in April 2010, he assumed duties as Commodore Flotillas at Fleet Headquarters. 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 was appointed

on 12 June 2014.Fleet Commander farewelled as new Admiral takes the weight
/ref> In recognition of his "selfless devotion to duty and outstanding achievement" in these senior roles, Mayer was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2017 Australia Day Honours. He relinquished command of the Australian Fleet to Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead in January 2018 and was appointed as Head Force Design within the Vice Chief of Defence Force Group from March. In April 2019 it was announced that Mayer would be appointed Deputy Commander

in South Korea later in the year. He relinquished Head Force Design in June and, promoted

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 ...

on 18 July, succeeded Lieutenant General Wayne Eyre of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

as Deputy Commander on 28 July. He was the second non-American (after Eyre) and first Australian to hold the post in the 69-year history of United Nations Command. Mayer relinquished the post on 15 December 2021. For his work with United Nations Command, Mayer was awarded an Officer of the United States

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

. Mayer is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, a

from

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

, and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland is a public research university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the sixth largest city in the Australian state of Queensland Founded in 1967 after a successful campaign by the local Darling Down ...

Post-military career

Following his retirement from the RAN in 2022, Mayer was appointed a partner in the consulting division at

Australia.

Personal life

Mayer is married to Susanne, with whom he has four children. Mayer's interests include rugby, sailing, bushwalking and kayaking.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Stuart Australian military personnel of the Gulf War Australian military personnel of the International Force for East Timor Australian military personnel of the Iraq War Australian recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Deakin University alumni Living people Officers of the Legion of Merit Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at North Sydney Boys High School Recipients of the Commendation for Distinguished Service Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia) Recipients of the Meritorious Unit Citation Royal Australian Navy admirals University of New South Wales alumni University of Southern Queensland alumni Year of birth missing (living people)