Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir Robert Alan Fry, (born 6 April 1951)

Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John ...

''Lt-Gen Sir Robert Fry, KCB, CBE''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 served as a

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

for over 30 years and was involved in military operations in Northern Ireland, the Gulf,

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and Afghanistan. After retirement from military service he went into private business and, in 2007, became CEO of Hewlett Packard's defence and security business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2010 he was appointed chairman of McKinney Rogers International and subsequently, in 2011, Albany Associates.

Early career

After taking a degree in economics at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

and working for a period in commerce in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Fry joined the Royal Marines in 1973.

The Standard (Kenya) ''The Standard'' is one of the largest newspapers in Kenya with a 48% market share. It is the oldest newspaper in the country and is owned by The Standard Group, which also runs the Kenya Television Network (KTN), Radio Maisha, ''The Nairobian ...

, 8 February 2011
''Navigating rough patches with military precision''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 His early career was spent at regimental and special duties. Attendance at the Army Staff College was followed by tours in the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and Directorate of Special Forces, a sequence punctuated in the 1986/7 academic year when he studied for an MA (Distinction) in War Studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Senior military career

In 1989, Fry was appointed Chief of staff, HQ 3 Commando Brigade, and subsequently took part in Operation Haven in Northern Iraq. This was followed by a return to the Ministry of Defence before taking command of 45 Commando in 1995. In 1997, in the rank of

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

, he became the Director of Naval Staff Duties in the Ministry of Defence, after which he took over command of

3 Commando Brigade United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK's special operations-capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel f ...

in 1999 and deployed to

(CBE).Chief Executive.net, 14 September 2010: ''From BDUs to Pinstripes''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 He was appointed

Commandant General Royal Marines Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General (United Kingdom), General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of Brigadier ( ...

in 2001, and a year later he took up the job of

Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not to be ...

, in which capacity he deployed as the UK Maritime Component Commander for operations in the Gulf. He assumed the post of Chief of Staff at the

Permanent Joint Headquarters The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headqua ...

in Northwood in May 2002 and remained in the job throughout the planning for and conduct of operations against

. He took over the job of Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) in July 2003. In 2004, the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COS) directed Fry to develop a plan to support NATO and switch British forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, where they had been involved since 2001. The plan had to accommodate the difficulty of concurrent operations in two theatres but was judged necessary in order to prevent a failure of the Alliance and the loss of Southern Afghanistan to Taliban control. He was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq in March 2006 and retired in 2007.

Later career

From July 2007 to March 2010, Fry served as CEO of HP Enterprise Services Defence & Security UK,DueDil: ''Sir Robert Alan Fry – Directorships''
Retrieved 15 August 2013 where he ran HPs $1.5 billion Europe, Africa and Middle East defence business. In January 2010 he was appointed chairman of the business consultancy McKinney Rogers International and in 2011 became chairman of Albany Associates. He remains an advisor to HP and a number of other companies in the defence and banking sectors. Fry is an established essayist and occasional columnist. He is also a visiting professor at

Reading University The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

, a visiting fellow at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and a visiting professor at

Department of War Studies. He is also a member the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi) is a defence and security think tank with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1831 by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley ...

executive council and a trustee of

Help for Heroes Help for Heroes is a British charity which supports members of the British Armed Forces community with their physical and mental health, as well as their financial, social and welfare needs. The charity was founded in 2007 by Bryn and Emma Parry ...

Awards

Early on in his career Fry was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. Later on he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services as commander of a multinational brigade in Kosovo in 1998. In July 2003, he was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

for his services as Director of Operations in the MoD, and was made Officer of the United States'

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

in 2006 for his final operational tour as Deputy Commanding General of coalition forces in Iraq. In 2012 he became the first non US recipient of the USMC ''Semper Fidelis'' award and in 2014 received an honorary doctorate (LLD) from the University of Bath.

Family

He is married to Liz and they have two daughters. He maintains his military links as colonel of the

Special Reconnaissance Regiment The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a special forces unit of the British Army that provides advanced and specialist surveillance and special reconnaissance capabilities. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United King ...

, and is a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

and

Liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the

Worshipful Company of Plaisterers The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers is one of the livery companies in the City of London. The Plaisterers' Company was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1501 and whilst the spelling used in the charter was "Plaisterer", some later charters ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Robert 1951 births Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Living people Alumni of the University of Bath Alumni of King's College London Royal Marines lieutenant generals Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the Gulf War Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War People from Penarth 20th-century Royal Marines personnel 21st-century Royal Marines personnel