Years of service 1979 - 2011 Rank Vice admiral | Awards Order of the Bath Name Robert Cooling | |
Commands held HMS SandpiperHMS Battleaxe6th Frigate SquadronHMS Illustrious | ||
Vice Admiral Robert George Cooling (born 11 July 1957) is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff.
Naval career
Educated at Keele University, Cooling joined the Royal Navy in 1978. He went on to command the patrol craft HMS Sandpiper and then the frigate HMS Battleaxe. He became Commanding Officer of the frigate HMS Montrose as well as Captain of the 6th Frigate Squadron in 1998 and Director of Navy Staff Duties at the Ministry of Defence in 2002. He went on to be Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in 2004, Deputy Commander of Strike Force (South) in 2006 and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in February 2008. Promoted to vice admiral, he became the chief of staff to NATO's Supreme Allied Command Transformation at Norfolk, Virginia in July 2009 before retiring in November 2011.
Cooling was appointed a Board Member of the Strategy and Integration Advisory Board of Quindell Portfolio plc in March 2012.