Vice Admiral Sir Keith Edward Blount, (born 22 June 1966) is a senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer and pilot. He was Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability and Carriers) and head of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

from 2015 to 2019.'BLOUNT, Rear Adm. Keith Edward',

Who's Who 2017 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 22 June 2017
/ref> He serves as Commander

Allied Maritime Command Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of th ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, since May 2019.

Early life and education

Blount was born on 22 June 1966 in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, England. He was educated at

Plymstock School Plymstock School is a state comprehensive secondary school (ages 11–19) in Plymstock, a suburb of Plymouth, Devon, England. It was the first West Devon comprehensive school (built on the core of a post war secondary school) and is now a Speci ...

, a state secondary school in Plymouth. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Defence Studies.

Naval career

Blount joined the

in 1984, and qualified as a helicopter pilot in 1986. Following training, he served with 826,

810 __NOTOC__ Year 810 ( DCCCX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Venetian dukes change sides again, submitting to Ki ...

771 __NOTOC__ The year 771 ( DCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 771 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calend ...

705 __NOTOC__ Year 705 ( DCCV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 705 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

and 820 Naval Air Squadrons. His commands have included , the Iraqi Maritime Task Group, and the United Kingdom's Maritime Component in Bahrain. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours. Blount served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability and Carriers) and

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

from May 2015 to February 2019. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in 2016, and appointed a

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 ...

in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

. He become Commander

, effective 20 May 2019, and was promoted to vice admiral. From July 2023 he will become Deputy SACEUR in the rank of Admiral. While a commodore, Blount was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

in the degree of officer by the President of the United States "in recognition of meritorious, gallant and distinguished services during coalition operations in the field". Blount was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in the 2023 New Year Honours.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blount, Keith 1966 births Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Fleet Air Arm aviators Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War