Rob Bauer

Bauer entered the Royal Netherlands Navy 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.[3]

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 in 2006 as the Deputy Commander of Task Force 150 in the Operation Enduring Freedom. He also commanded the HNLMS Johan de Witt, a Landing Platform Dock (LPD) amphibious warfare ship, in 2010 to 2011.

Bauer was promoted to 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 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.

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 Chief of Defence on 5 October 2017, after the resignation of Tom Middendorp and then-Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in the aftermath of the death of two Dutch soldiers in a training accident in Mali.[4] 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.[5]

On 9 October 2020, Bauer was elected by various Allied Chiefs of Defence from the NATO Military Committee as the new Chairman of the NATO Military Committee,[6] the senior military adviser to the Secretary General of NATO. He took up the position replacing Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, on 25 June 2021.[7][8]

• Commander, Order of Orange-Nassau
• Officer's Cross (Operation Enduring Freedom)
• Royal Netherlands Navy service medal
• NATO Medal (Operation Active Endeavour, Article 5)
• Commander, Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
• Officier, Legion of Honour
• Grand Officer, Order of the Crown
• Grand Cross, Order for Merits to Lithuania (Variant: Public Service and Cross-Border Relations)
• Commemorative Medal for Peace Operations
• Golden Sun of the Higher Defence Command Formation
• Maritime Air Controller Skill Badge

Bauer comes from a family of engineers. He is married to Maaike Bauer and they have three children.[8]

• @CMC_NATO at Twitter
• Chief of Defence (in English)

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