Bruce Nicholas Bromley Williams CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 is a Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral (Royal Navy)

Rear Admiral is a flag officer rank of the British Royal Navy. It is immediately superior to Commodore and is subordinate to Vice Admiral. It is a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7....

 in the British Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

As Commander UK Task Group, having previously had command of Combined Task Force 58 (Northern Gulf / Southern Iraq) In late 2006 he was assigned to the command of Combined Task Force 150

Combined Task Force 150

Combined Task Force 150 is a multinational coalition naval task force working under the 25 nation coalition of Combined Maritime Forces and is based in Bahrain established to monitor, inspect, board, and stop suspect shipping to pursue the "War on Terrorism" and in the Horn of Africa region ...

, a multinational squadron of ships serving under the US Fifth Fleet

Fifth Fleet

Fifth Fleet or 5th fleet may mean:* United States Fifth Fleet* IJN 5th Fleet, Imperial Japanese Navy* Luftflotte 5-See also:* Fifth * Fleet * Fourth Fleet * Sixth Fleet...

 assigned to Maritime Security Operations

Maritime Security Operations

Maritime Security Operations is a term for the actions of modern naval forces to "combat sea–based terrorism and other illegal activities, such as hijacking, piracy, and slavery, also known as human trafficking." Ships assigned to such operations may also assist seafaring vessels in distress...

 in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

. During this command, which coincided with the war in Somalia

War in Somalia (2006–present)

The War in Somalia was an armed conflict involving largely Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government forces and Somali troops from Puntland versus the Somali Islamist umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union , and other affiliated militias for control of the country. There is a clear...

 between the Transitional Federal Government

Transitional Federal Government

The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...

 (TFG), backed by the forces of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 against the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), Commodore Williams led the task force performing naval interdiction off the Somali

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 coast of during the Battle of Ras Kamboni

Battle of Ras Kamboni

The Battle of Ras Kamboni was a battle in the 2006-2007 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and the Somali Transitional Federal Government forces for control of Ras Kamboni , a town near the Kenyan border which once served as a training camp for...

 in January 2007 to prevent the escape of wanted terrorists associated with Al Qaeda.

Commodore Williams turned over command of Task Force 150 to French Navy Rear Admiral Alain Hinden on 4 April 2007.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the ew Year Honours 2008|2008 New Year Honours]

Completing his appointment as Commander UK Task Group in 2008 he became Deputy Commandant of the UK Joint Services Command & Staff College, before being promoted to Rear Admiral in 2009 and taking up the appointment as Chief of Staff to NATO's Maritime Headquarters in Naples.