Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 Sir Ian David Graham Garnett KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (born 27 September 1944) is the Commandant

Commandant

Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...

 of the Royal College of Defence Studies

Royal College of Defence Studies

The Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom...

.

Early life

Born in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, he was the son of Capt Ian Garnett, of the Royal Navy. He attended the independent Canford School

Canford School

Canford School is a coeducational independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the village of Canford Magna, near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, in South West England. The school was founded in 1923. There are approximately 600 pupils at Canford, organised into houses...

 near Wimborne Minster

Wimborne Minster

Wimborne Minster is a market town in the East Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town...

, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

. He then went to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth

Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...

.

Career

Admiral Ian Garnett joined the 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...

 in 1962. He served in HM Ships London

HMS London (D16)

HMS London was a County-class destroyer of the Royal Navy.-History:She commissioned at Swan Hunter's yard in Wallsend in 1963 under Captain J.C. Bartosik and initially was fully employed setting her armament to work, successfully firing her Seaslug for the first time off Aberporth in April 1964...

, Beachampton and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Later he joined 814 Squadron onboard HMS Hermes

HMS Hermes (R12)

HMS Hermes was a Centaur-class British aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:...

. He then served on exchange with the Royal Australian Navy on board HMAS Melbourne

HMAS Melbourne (1945)

HMAS Melbourne was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy . Operating from 1955 until 1982, she was the third and final conventional aircraft carrier to serve in the RAN...

 before flying Sea King helicopters in HM Ships Tiger

HMS Tiger (C20)

HMS Tiger was a conventional cruiser of the Royal Navy, one of a three ship class known as the Tiger class.-Construction, redesign and commissioning:...

 and Blake

HMS Blake (C99)

HMS Blake was a guided missile cruiser of the Tiger class of the Royal Navy, the last of the Royal Navy cruisers. She was named after Admiral Robert Blake, a 17th century admiral who was the "Father of the Royal Navy". She was ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class of light cruisers...

 and then became Operations Officer in HMS Naiad

HMS Naiad (F39)

HMS Naiad was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy . Like the rest of the class, Naiad was named after a figure or figures of mythology, in this case the Naiads of Greek mythology. Naiad was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders of Scotstoun...

.

In 1978 he became the Deputy Director (RN) of the Joint Maritime Operations Training School and then took command of HMS Amazon

HMS Amazon (F169)

HMS Amazon was the first Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy. Her keel was laid down at the Vosper Thornycroft shipyard in Southampton, England...

, a Type 21 Frigate. In 1983 he became Assistant Director (Ships) in the Operational Requirements Division of the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

. He then commanded HMS Active

HMS Active (F171)

HMS Active was a of the Royal Navy. Built by Vosper Thornycroft, Southampton, England, she was completed with Exocet launchers in 'B' position, the first of the class to be so fitted....

, and then moved on to lead the Royal Navy Presentation Team from 1988.

In 1989 he became Captain Naval Operational Command Systems and then Director of Operational Requirements (Sea Systems). In 1993 he was made Flag Officer Naval Aviation and in 1995 he became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation , the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe . The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic, based at Norfolk, Virginia...

 for NATO.

In February 1999 he was appointed Chief of Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters

Permanent Joint Headquarters

The Permanent Joint Headquarters is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London....

 and in September 2001 he became Chief of Staff at SHAPE

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...

.

Retirement

He retired from the Royal Navy in December 2004, and from 5 January 2005 until 4 January 2008 was Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies

Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies

The Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies was a UK senior serving military officer between 1972 and 2001. The post rotated through the three branches of the armed forces in turn. In 1971 the old Imperial Defence College became the Royal College of Defence Studies...

. He is currently chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889).