Robert Peter Bauer (born 11 November 1962) is an Lieutenant admiral in the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

, currently serving as the

Chair of the NATO Military Committee The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 30-nation alliance and ...

since June 2021. He previously served as

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position wit ...

(

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Commandant der Strijdkrachten'') from October 2017 to April 2021, and as the Vice Chief of Defence of the

Armed forces of the Netherlands The Netherlands Armed Forces ( nl, Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the Royal Netherlands Ar ...

from 1 September 2015 to 13 July 2017.

Naval career

Bauer entered the

through the Royal Naval College in 1981 until commissioned as a naval commander in 1984. He also completed the Advanced Strategic and General Studies Programme in 1998. Bauer commanded the HNLMS ''De Ruyter'', a De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command frigate in 2005 to 2007. His command also includes the operational deployment in the Mediterranean with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 as part of the NATO Response Force ( Operation Active Endeavour). He was deployed in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

in 2006 as the Deputy Commander of Task Force 150 in the

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 a ...

. He also commanded the HNLMS ''Johan de Witt'', a

Landing Platform Dock An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently oper ...

(LPD) amphibious warfare ship, in 2010 to 2011. Bauer 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 ...

in 2011 and appointed as Deputy Director of Plans for Operational Policy and Innovation, focusing on the future defense fields of The Netherlands. In 2012, he was promoted to

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 rega ...

and appointed as Director of Plans. He was also a member of the Council for Defence Research and Development, the National Council for Cyber Security and the Netherlands Coast Guard Council. He also served as the Chairman of the Defence Business Platform and also became a board member of the

National Committee for 4 and 5 May The National Committee for 4 and 5 May ( nl, Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei) is a Dutch authority for war monuments and memorials since 1987. The committee is best known for its annual organization of the Remembrance of the Dead observances on May ...

. Bauer was appointed Vice Chief of Defence, and promoted to vice admiral, on 22 September 2015. In July 2017, he handed his position as the Vice Chief of Defence to Lieutenant General Martin Wijnen, in order to prepare for his post as Chief of Defence. He became the

on 5 October 2017, after the resignation of

Tom Middendorp Thomas Antonius Middendorp (born 6 September 1960) is a retired general of the Royal Netherlands Army. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 28 June 2012 until 3 October 2017. He previously served as the Comm ...

and then-

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in the aftermath of the death of two Dutch soldiers in a training accident in Mali. He was promoted to lieutenant admiral – the highest rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy, equivalent to a NATO OF-9 flag officer (i.e., four stars) – on October 5, 2017. On 9 October 2020, Bauer was elected by various Allied Chiefs of Defence from the

NATO Military Committee The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Military Committee (NATO MC) is the body of NATO that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representat ...

as the new Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, the senior military adviser to the

Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...

. He took up the position replacing Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, on 25 June 2021.

Awards and Badges

Commander,

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

Officer's Cross (

) *

Royal Netherlands Navy service medal * NATO Medal ribbon (Article 5)

NATO Medal ( Operation Active Endeavour, Article 5) * Commander,

Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg The Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (French: ''Ordre de Mérite du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg'') is an order of merit of Luxembourg, instituted on 23 January 1961 by Grand Duchess Charlotte. Grand Master of the order is the Grand ...

* Officier,

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

Grand Officer, Order of the Crown * LTU Order for Merits to Lithuania - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross,

Order for Merits to Lithuania The Order for Merits to Lithuania ( lt, Ordinas Už nuopelnus Lietuvai) is an award, presented by the President of Lithuania, which may be conferred on the citizens of Lithuania and foreign nationals for distinguished services promoting name of Lit ...

(Variant: Public Service and Cross-Border Relations) * Dutch Commemorative Medal for Peace Keeping Operations Ribbon

Commemorative Medal for Peace Operations * NLD Hogere Defensie Vorming HDV

Golden Sun of the Higher Defence Command Formation * Maritime Air Controller Skill Badge

Personal life

Bauer comes from a family of engineers. He is married to Maaike Bauer and they have three children.

References

External links

@CMC_NATO at Twitter

Chief of Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Rob 1962 births Living people Chiefs of Defence (Netherlands) Royal Netherlands Naval College alumni Royal Netherlands Navy admirals Royal Netherlands Navy officers Dutch military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military personnel from Amsterdam