Vice Admiral Martin John Connell, (born 1968) 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 currently serving as

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establish ...

Naval career

Connell joined the

in 1987 as a

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

Observer. He then went on to become a Qualified Observer Instructor (QOI) at

702 Naval Air Squadron 702 Naval Air Squadron (702 NAS) was a naval squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset and earlier at RNAS Portland in Dorset. As a training Squadron it trained all ground and air crew for the sister ...

before becoming a Flight Commander on HMS ''Coventry'' and HMS ''Manchester'', before instructing observers on 815 Naval Air Squadron. He was given command of the offshore patrol vessel in 2003, of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

in 2006, in which role he was deployed on Operation Telic, and of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

in 2012. Connell was promoted to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

on 10 February 2015. He went on to be appointed Commander Amphibious Task Group in 2015, and naval

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 2016. Since 2019, he has served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers) as well as 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 ...

. He is a recipient of the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with one clasp. Connell was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours. Until 2022 he was serving as Director Force Generation under the

Fleet Commander The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is required to provide ships, submarine ...

. On 14 January 2022, newly promoted Rear Admiral Steve Moorhouse became Director Force Generation as Connell was promoted and appointed as Second Sea Lord. It was announced in January 2022, that Connell would become

taking over from Vice Admiral

Nick Hine Vice Admiral Sir Nicholas William Hine, (born 4 February 1966) is a retired senior Royal Navy officer. He served as Second Sea Lord from 2019 to 2022. Early life and education Hine was born on 4 February 1966 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England. ...

. On 12 January 2022, Connell formally took over as Second Sea Lord.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Martin 1968 births Fleet Air Arm aviators Living people Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Gulf War Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War Royal Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Yorkshire