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Alan West
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Alan West | |
|---|---|
| 1948 – | |
 Sir Alan West Picture: Crown copyright |
|
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1965 – 2006 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Battles/wars | Cold War, Falklands War, War on terror, Iraq War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross |
Admiral Sir Alan West, GCB, DSC, DUniv (born 1948) was the First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy, from 2002 to 2006. He is the current Chancellor of Southampton Solent University.
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Educated at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, West joined the Navy in 1965 and has served on 14 different ships, commanding three of them. In 1980 he was promoted to Commander and took command of the frigate HMS Ardent, which was sunk on 21 May 1982 during the Falklands War. West was the last to leave the sinking ship and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership.
West was made Rear Admiral in February 1994. In February 1996 he became Commander United Kingdom Task Group. In October 1997 he was promoted to Vice Admiral and Chief of Defence Intelligence.
West was knighted as a KCB in 2000. He became a full Admiral in November 2000 when he took up the post of Commander-in-Chief Fleet, NATO Commander-in-Chief East Atlantic and NATO Commander Allied Naval Forces North.
West was appointed as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in September 2002. He was promoted to GCB in 2004. Admiral West was also a member of the Defence Council and Admiralty Board as well as First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty The Queen. He completed his term as First Sea Lord on 6 February 2006 and was succeeded by Admiral Sir Jonathon Band.
West was installed as the first Chancellor for Southampton Solent University, formerly Southampton Institute on Wednesday, 28 June 2006.
| Military Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Nigel Essenhigh |
First Sea Lord 2002–2006 |
Succeeded by Sir Jonathon Band |
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe • Sir Peter Parker • Prince William, Duke of Clarence • Sir George Cockburn • Sir Thomas Hardy • The Hon. George Heneage Dundas • Charles Adam • Sir Charles Adam • Sir William Parker • Sir Charles Adam • James Whitley Deans Dundas • Hyde Parker • The Hon. Maurice Fitzhardinge Berkeley • William Fanshawe Martin • The Hon. Sir Richard Saunders Dundas • The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey • Sir Sydney Dacres • Sir Alexander Milne • Sir Hastings Yelverton • George Wellesley • Sir Astley Cooper Key • Sir Arthur Acland Hood • Lord John Hay • Sir R. Vesey Hamilton • Sir Anthony Hoskins • Sir Frederick Richards • Lord Walter Kerr • Sir Jackie Fisher • Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson • Sir Francis Bridgeman • Prince Louis of Battenberg • Sir Henry Jackson • Sir John Jellicoe • Sir Rosslyn Wemyss • The Earl Beatty • Sir Charles Madden, Bt • Sir Frederick Field • The Lord Chatfield • Sir Roger Backhouse • Sir Dudley Pound • The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope • Sir John Cunningham • The Lord Fraser of North Cape • Sir Rhoderick McGrigor • The Earl Mountbatten of Burma • Sir Charles Lambe • Sir Caspar John • Sir David Luce • Sir Varyl Begg • Sir Michael Le Fanu • Sir Peter Hill-Norton • Sir Michael Pollock • Sir Edward Ashmore • Sir Terence Lewin • Sir Henry Leach • Sir John Fieldhouse • Sir William Staveley • Sir Julian Oswald • Sir Benjamin Bathurst • Sir Jock Slater • Sir Michael Boyce • Sir Nigel Essenhigh • Sir Alan West • Sir Jonathon Band •