Paul Bennett (Royal Navy officer)

Vice Admiral Paul Martin Bennett, CB, OBE is a former senior Royal Navy officer.

Vice Admiral Paul Bennett CB OBE
Rear Admiral Bennett in 2017
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1985–2022
Rank	Vice admiral
Commands	Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces Commander Amphibious Task Group HMS Daring HMS Exeter HMS Atherstone HMS Biter
Battles / wars	Iraq War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Early life and education

Bennett was educated at Hymers College and Newcastle University.^[1]

Naval career

Bennett joined the Royal Navy in 1985.^[2] He trained as a navigator before being given command the minehunter HMS Atherstone in 1998, the destroyer HMS Exeter in 1999 and the destroyer HMS Daring in 2008.^[2] He became Commander Amphibious Task Group in May 2009, Commodore Naval Personnel Strategy in January 2011 and Director of the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre in February 2013.^[3]

After that he became Chief of Staff at Joint Forces Command in September 2013 and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Capability) and Controller of the Navy in May 2016.^[4] He was made Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces in November 2017,^[4] which was followed by appointment as Chief of Staff of NATO Allied Command Transformation in July 2018.^[5] He was succeeded by Vice Admiral Guy Robinson in September 2021,^[6] and subsequently retired in February 2022.^[7]

Bennett was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 Birthday Honours,^[8] and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2016 Birthday Honours.^[9]

Later life

Bennett (right) at the 2024 Remembrance Sunday parade at the Cenotaph

In October 2024, Bennett became national president of the Royal British Legion.^[10]