Jonathon Band

Sir Jonathon Band
Admiral Sir Jonathon Band speaks with a sailor from the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, Washington Navy Yard (2009)
Born	(1950-02-02) 2 February 1950 (age 67)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1967–2009
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Fleet HMS Illustrious HMS Norfolk HMS Phoebe HMS Soberton
Battles/wars	Falklands War Bosnian War Iraq War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB, DL (born 2 February 1950) was the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 2006 to 2009, the most senior serving officer in the Royal Navy. Before serving as First Sea Lord he was Commander-in-Chief Fleet. Since becoming First Sea Lord, Band had been a firm advocate of the creation of new ships to meet new threats and maintain the status of the Royal Navy as one of the world's leading naval forces.

Born the son of Victor and Muriel Band, Band attended two independent schools: Brambletye School, a preparatory school, in Ashurst Wood, West Sussex, and from the age of thirteen, Haileybury and Imperial Service College. He entered the Royal Navy in 1967, before undertaking sea training in the Far East. He returned to the UK on an undergraduate programme and studied for three years at the University of Exeter, gaining a BA in 1972.

After graduating from Exeter, Band served in junior officer appointments in HMS Lewiston and HMS Rothesay. He was confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1971. In the mid 1970s, he undertook an exchange programme with the United States Navy and served on board the guided missile cruiser, USS Belknap, which is now no longer in service. He was promoted to lieutenant on 30 January 1974. Following warfare training in 1976 and 1977 he served for two years as the principal warfare officer and operations officer on board the frigate HMS Eskimo. This appointment included deployments to the West Indies and South Atlantic.