Rear Admiral John Robert Hamilton Clink, CBE (born 18 February 1964) is a former Royal Navy officer who retired from the Royal Navy in 2018.
John Clink | |
---|---|
Born | 18 February 1964 |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Rank | Rear Admiral |
Commands held | Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland British Forces Gibraltar HMS Ark Royal HMS Kent HMS Archer Aberdeen Universities' Royal Naval Unit |
Battles/wars | Iraq War War in Afghanistan |
Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire Bronze Star Medal (United States) |
Clink was born on 18 February 1964. He was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School, then an all-boys state grammar school. He studied international security and strategy at King's College London, graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 2012.[1]
He became commanding officer of the Aberdeen University Royal Naval Unit and its patrol boat HMS Archer in 1991, commanding officer of the frigate HMS Kent in 1998[2] and commanding officer of HMS Ark Royal in July 2008 before becoming Deputy Commander UK Maritime Forces in June 2011.[3] In the latter role he commanded Combined Task Force 150, a multinational naval task force working under a 25 nation coalition of Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain.[3] He went on to be Commander British Forces Gibraltar in November 2012, Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland in the rank of rear admiral in August 2014[4] and Flag Officer Sea Training in 2015.[5]
Clink was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002[6] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours.[7]