Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Garry Stuart Robison, (born 10 June 1958) is a retired

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer who served as

Commandant-General Royal Marines The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not t ...

and

Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not t ...

from 2006 to 2009.

Early life

Robison was born in Yorkshire,University of Derby
/ref> the son of George Desmond Robison and Carole Margaret Robison (née Pugh).''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

2010'',

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 18 ...

, 2010, He was educated at Bemrose Grammar School.

Military career

Robison joined the

in September 1976 and underwent officer training. He served in

45 Commando 45 Commando Royal Marines (pronounced "four-five commando") is a battalion sized unit of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of th ...

, Comacchio Company, and on the staff of the

Commando Training Centre Royal Marines Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) is the principal military training centre for the Royal Marines. It is situated near the villages of Lympstone and Exton, between the city of Exeter, and the town of Exmouth in Devon, England. Histo ...

. He qualified as a Physical Training and Sports Officer and taught in that capacity at Britannia Royal Naval College. In 1977 and 1978 he made two Emergency tours of duty in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

during

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. From 1988 to 1989, Robison commanded Bravo Company in

40 Commando 40 Commando RM is a battalion-sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet. Their barracks are at Norton ...

, before being selected to attend the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

. After a number of staff appointments during the 1990s, Robison became the Royal Marine member on the Directing Staff at Camberley, and then at the Joint Services Command and Staff College upon its formation in 1997. In 1998–1999, he read for a

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

. He was then appointed Commanding Officer of

in July 1999. During his 18-month tenure of command, 45 Commando undertook environmental training in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

and an operational tour as the Pristina Battlegroup under the UN Peacekeeping Operation in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. Following this Robison was appointed to staff positions in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

before being assigned to Iraq for six months as Deputy Commander of the

Iraq Survey Group The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was a fact-finding mission sent by the multinational force in Iraq to find the weapons of mass destruction alleged to be possessed by Iraq that had been the main ostensible reason for the invasion in 2003. Its final re ...

in 2003. From 2004 to 2006 he was Commandant of the Commando Training Centre, before being promoted major general in June 2006 and appointed

, the commander of Britain's amphibious warfare capability. During this period he undertook a 12-month operational deployment to Afghanistan as the Deputy Commander (Stability) in the

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

based in Kabul. Robison completed his appointment as Commandant-General in 2009; his final military appointment was as Chief of Staff (Capability) on the staff of Commander-in-Chief Fleet Headquarters. Robison was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Derby in January 2011. Robison retired from the Royal Marines in June 2011 and joined

Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...

. He is currently the Manager of Global Corporate Security for Bechtel Global Corporation.

Personal life

Robison married Bridget Anne (née Clark) in 1982, with whom he had one son and two daughters. He was Chairman of Combined Services Cricket, President of Royal Navy Cricket, Vice President of Royal Navy Football, President of Royal Marines Cricket, and President of Royal Marines Football. He remains an Honorary Vice President of Royal Navy

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and an Honorary Vice President of Royal Navy Football. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers. He was Vice President of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children's Fund from 2006 to 2018.

Footnotes

Reference list

* *''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Robison, Garry 1958 births Living people Military personnel from Yorkshire People educated at Bemrose School Free Foresters cricketers Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Royal Marines generals Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)