RICHARD REES RANK:LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JOINED:SEPTEMBER 1994 SPECIALISATION:WARFARE PREVIOUS UNITS:HMS GLOUCESTER, DULVERTON, SOUTHAMPTON, LANCASTER, NORTHUMBERLAND, ALBION Military experience Lt Cdr Richard Rees joined BRNC in September 1994 as a General List Supply Officer. Following Fleet training in HMS Gloucester, where he gained his Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate, he was successful in his application to transfer to the Warfare Branch. He then completed junior watchkeeping appointments in HMS Dulverton (Gunnery Officer) and HMS Southampton (Communications Officer) before Navigating HMS Lancaster. After Principal Warfare Officer’s course, where he specialised in Underwater Warfare, he joined HMS Northumberland as the Operations Officer, bringing her out of refit in Rosyth. This was a challenging period as at the time the ship was the ‘pilot’ for the Navy Board’s Personnel Change Programme (NBPCP) and a new manning structure had to be implemented from scratch. In November 06 he qualified as a Specialist Navigator and was subsequently appointed as a Staff Warfare Officer conducting Operational Sea Training. An enjoyable 30 months followed where he was involved in the training of every Frigate and Destroyer in the Royal Navy, as well as ships from 12 different international navies. In May 09 he joined HMS Albion as Navigator and during this appointment deployed north of the Arctic Circle, to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and to the Mediterranean and Middle East. During this last deployment, HMS Albion was the command platform for the initial Apache Strikes into Libya in 2011. Lt Cdr Rees took command of HMS Chiddingfold and Crew 5 in April 12. He is married and lives in Hampshire. .