Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 Duncan L. Potts (born 1961) is a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 officer who currently serves as Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces

Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces

Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces or COMUKMARFOR is a senior post in the Royal Navy. The post is the highest sea-going command in the Royal Navy and is part of the Fleet Battle Staff based in Portsmouth, part of Commander-in-Chief Fleet's staff...

.

Naval career

Educated at Wellington School

Wellington School, Somerset

Wellington School is a British co-educational independent school in Wellington, Somerset, England catering for both day pupils and boarders. There are currently 750 pupils on roll including 200 students in the sixth form. The Headmaster is Martin Reader....

 in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, Potts joined the Royal Navy in 1979. He became Commanding Officer

Commanding officer

The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...

 of the frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 HMS Brilliant

HMS Brilliant (F90)

HMS Brilliant was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy.She was part of the Task Force that took part in the Falklands War, with Captain John Coward in command...

 in 1996, Commanding Officer of the destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 HMS Southampton

HMS Southampton (D90)

HMS Southampton was a batch two Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was named after the city of Southampton, England, and built by Vosper Thornycroft, in Southampton...

 in 1997 and a member of the Policy and Programmes Cell at the Permanent Joint Headquarters

Permanent Joint Headquarters

The Permanent Joint Headquarters 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....

 in 1998 before becoming Commander Sea Training to the Flag Officer Sea Training in 1999. He was appointed Commander of the frigate HMS Marlborough

HMS Marlborough (F233)

HMS Marlborough was a 'Duke'-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the sixth ship to bear the name. She was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.-History:...

 and the 4th Frigate Squadron in 2000 and deployed to the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.

He went on to be Captain Navy Plans and then Military Assistant to the Vice-Chief of Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

. He was appointed Commander of the UK Task Group in 2007 (in which role he was deployed to the Gulf) and Assistant Chief of Staff (Crisis and Deliberate Planning) at Permanent Joint Headquarters in 2009. He became Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces

Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces

Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces or COMUKMARFOR is a senior post in the Royal Navy. The post is the highest sea-going command in the Royal Navy and is part of the Fleet Battle Staff based in Portsmouth, part of Commander-in-Chief Fleet's staff...

 in January 2011 (deployed as Commander of EU maritime operations off Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

from August 2011).