Vice Admiral Mark Mellett,

DSM DSM or dsm may refer to: Science and technology * Deep space maneuver * Design structure matrix or dependency structure matrix, a representation of a system or project * Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ** DSM-5, the fifth ed ...

( ga, Marcus Ó Méalóid; born 4 November 1958), is a retired Irish Naval Service admiral and was Chief of Staff of Ireland's Defence Forces from September 2015 until September 2021.

Military career

Mark Mellett is from

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. W ...

, County Mayo, and joined the Irish Naval Service in November 1976 having served in the then ''FCÁ'' (

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

), 5th Motor Sqn (modern-day Cavalry Corps), before being appointed as a Commissioned Officer after a two-year cadetship where he studied at the Cadet School Military College in the

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel. History Longstanding ...

, County Kildare, Cadet School Naval College

Haulbowline Haulbowline ( ga, Inis Sionnach; non, Ál-boling) is an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Ireland. The world's first yacht club was founded on Haulbowline in 1720. The western side of the island is the main naval base and headquarters f ...

, Cork in Ireland, and at

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

in Dartmouth, England. His first command was of the LÉ ''Orla'' in 1991, he subsequently commanded the LÉ ''Ciara'' in 1997 before commanding the Irish Naval Service flagship, LÉ ''Eithne'', in 2005. He became the second Naval Service officer recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) in 1994 as Captain of the LÉ ''Orla'' for its role in the detention of drug smuggling craft. Mellett is a qualified navy diver and former member of the specialist Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS). Mellett served overseas with the Irish Defence Forces as part of the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

(UNIFIL) in 1989, and with the

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

(ISAF) in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in 2004 as a senior

North Atlantic Treaty Organization 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 ...

(NATO) Information Operations Officer, where he was credited as being a major player in the success of the

2004 Afghan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on October 9, 2004. Hamid Karzai won the elections with 55.4% of the vote and three times more votes than any other candidate. Twelve candidates received less than 1% of the vote. It is estimated th ...

– where

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

was elected into office – using his diplomacy skills in bringing together the numerous official bodies entrusted with running the democratic elections. He received citations for his service in both Lebanon and Afghanistan. Mellett has served as

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the Naval College and Associate Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI). Mellett was the Officer Commanding Naval Operations Command (OCNOC) at Naval Headquarters,

Naval Base,

Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Ja ...

prior to his appointment as Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service (FOCNS) in January 2011, holding the rank of

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 ...

. As flag officer, his vision was to transform the Irish Naval Service into the "smartest, most innovative and responsive" navy in the world. In November 2013, Mellett was announced as Deputy Chief of Staff, Support (D COS Sp) at Defence Forces Headquarters by the Department of Defence, promoted to the rank of Rear admiral, and becoming the highest ranking Naval Service officer in the history of the state at the time. On 29 September 2015, Mellett took over from

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Conor O'Boyle (

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

) as Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces when Lt Gen O'Boyle retired. Mellett was nominated for the position by Minister for Defence

Simon Coveney Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment since December 2022 and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael since 2017. He previously served as Minister for Foreign Affai ...

, approved by the

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

and appointed by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

, who is the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces. Mellett made Irish military history in becoming the first Defence Forces Chief of Staff from outside the branch of the Army, promoted to the rank of Vice admiral, the naval equivalent of an Irish Army

Education

Mellett holds a PhD (2009) in Political Science in Governance from

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

and a

Master of Commerce Master of Commerce (MCom or M Comm; sometimes '' Magister Commercii'' as MagComm or Mag. comm.) is a postgraduate master's degree focusing on commerce-, accounting-, management- and economics-related subjects. Like the undergraduate Bachelor of Co ...

(2002) in Government and Public Policy (Honours) from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

(UCC). He is a distinguished graduate of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

(1999), where he was the top graduate of the thirty two attending countries. He was also the top graduate in both the Irish Command and Staff College (1998) and the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

(1989). Mellett is a Fellow of the Nautical Institute (FNI). He has been a visiting professor at the Centre for Applied Research in Security Innovation (CASI) at

Liverpool Hope University , mottoeng=Hope to all who need it , established=1844 – Saint Katharine's College (as Warrington Training College)1856 – Notre Dame College (as Our Lady's Training College)1964 – Christ's College1979 – Liverpool Institute of Higher Edu ...

, and has published in the areas of security, innovation and governance. Mellett is a published research member of the European Security Research Innovation Forum (ESRIF). He is a founding member of the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC), an institutional cluster encompassing University College Cork and

Cork Institute of Technology Cork Institute of Technology (CIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Chorcaí) was an institute of technology, located in Cork, Ireland. Upon its dissolution, the institute had 17,000 students studying in art, business, engineering, music, dra ...

(CIT). The aim of IMERC is to enhance Defence Forces capability while facilitating innovation, transformation and job creation in the private sector. Vice Admiral Mellett has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor in the University College Cork (UCC) College of Business & Law.

Personal life

Mellett is married with four children. He is said to be interested in physical fitness, including running, cycling and gym work.

Ranks held

Decorations

References

External links

Deputy Chief of Staff Support (D COS Sp)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellett, Mark 1958 births Alumni of the University of Galway Alumni of University College Cork Chiefs of Staff of the Defence Forces (Ireland) Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Irish Naval Service personnel Living people Military personnel from County Mayo Naval War College alumni People from Castlebar Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (Ireland)