Ben Key

Ben Key
Born	7 November 1965 Rugby, England, UK
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1984 –
Rank	Vice Admiral
Commands held	HMS Sandown HMS Iron Duke HMS Lancaster HMS Illustrious Fleet Commander
Battles/wars	Kosovo War
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Bronze Star (United States)

Vice Admiral Benjamin John Key, CBE (born 7 November 1965) is a Royal Navy officer who currently serves as Fleet Commander.

Educated at Bromsgrove School and Royal Holloway, University of London, Key joined the Royal Navy in 1984. He saw action as a Principal Warfare Officer in the frigate HMS Somerset during the Kosovo War in 1999. After briefly serving as commanding officer of the minehunter HMS Sandown, he became commanding officer of the frigate HMS Iron Duke in 2000 and HMS Lancaster in 2001. He went on to be a staff officer in the Directorate of Naval Resources and Plans at the Ministry of Defence in 2003, Advisor to the Director Joint Staff in the Iraqi Joint Headquarters in 2006 and then a staff officer at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood in 2007. After that he became commanding officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in February 2009, Commodore Joint Air Maritime Organisation in February 2010 and Director of Naval Plans and Resources at the Ministry of Defence in May 2011. His latest appointments have been Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff in November 2011,Flag Officer Sea Training in April 2013 and Fleet Commander in February 2016.