Rear Admiral Michael Julian van Balen (born 16 February 1961) is a retired senior officer of the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
(RAN), who served as the
Deputy Chief of Navy
The Deputy Chief of Navy (DCN) is the second most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Navy, responsible to the Chief of Navy (CN). The rank associated with the position is rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer ...
from 2013 to January 2016.
Early life
van Balen was born in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, Queensland, on 16 February 1961 to Adrian and Cath van Balen.
Naval career
van Balen joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1978 and graduated from the
Royal Australian Naval College
The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...
in 1982.
[
van Balen has served in a various billets within the Australian naval high command and United States Navy commands.][
He has served on board a variety of Royal Australian Navy ships including HMA ships '']Barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships.
In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protectio ...
'', ''Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
'', '' Stalwart'', '' Stuart'', '' Yarra'', '' Bunbury'', '' Derwent'', '' Swan'' and the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
ship USS ''Ranger'', a Forrestal-class aircraft carrier.[
van Balen completed a ]Master of Management
The Master of Management (MM, MBM, MIM, MMgt) is a master’s degree comprising one or two years graduate level coursework in business management. As the program is designed for students interested in entering leadership roles, the degree attrac ...
degree from the Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...
in 2001.[ He attended the US Naval War College in 2005.]
Honours and awards
RADM van Balen has also been awarded the RAN's " Principal Warfare Officer" badge and the RAN's "Sea Readiness Badge".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balen, Michael van
1961 births
Australian military personnel of the Iraq War
Deputy Chiefs of Navy (Australia)
Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College
Living people
Naval War College alumni
Officers of the Legion of Merit
Officers of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Commendation for Distinguished Service
Royal Australian Navy admirals
Military personnel from Brisbane
University of New South Wales alumni