Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

John Charles O'Brien OC, CD (16 December 1918 – 24 March 1996) was a

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

officer who served as Commander Maritime Command from 19 July 1966 to 6 July 1970.

Career

O'Brien joined the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

in 1935.O'Brien, John Charles
The Nauticapedia He was in action off

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 1939, commanded a small boat at the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

in 1940, served as a Signals Officer for the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

in 1943 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He became Director Naval Training in 1955, Director Naval Communications in 1957 and Commanding Officer of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

in 1959. He went on to be Naval Member of the Canadian Joint Staff in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1961, Senior Canadian Officer Afloat (Atlantic) in 1964 and Commander Maritime Command in 1966. His last appointment was as Commandant of the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, t ...

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in 1970 before retiring in 1973. O'Brien married Stephanie Frances Swire; she died on 2 October 2006.Obituary: Stephanie Frances O'Brien
The Telegraph, October 2006

Awards and decorations

Obrien's personal awards and decorations include the following:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, John Canadian admirals Royal Canadian Navy officers Officers of the Order of Canada 1918 births 1996 deaths Military personnel from East Sussex Commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II British emigrants to Canada