Jonathon Band

Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, (born 2 February 1950) is a retired Royal Navy officer who was the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 2006 to 2009. 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.

Early life 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. 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.

From 1979 and 1981 he commanded the minesweeper HMS Soberton he assumed command of the frigate HMS Phoebe. he left the Directorate of Policy and commanded HMS Norfolk.

In 1991, he became the Assistant Director Navy Plans and Programmes in the Ministry of Defence, a period that saw the implementation of the "Options for Change" Review. In 1994 he was a member of the Defence Costs Study (Front Line First) Secretariat. He was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 9 April 1995. His last sea command was that of HMS Illustrious, the aircraft carrier, between 1995 and 1997. He left this appointment in December 1999 and assumed the position of team leader of the Defence Education and Training Study in January 2000

Commander-in-Chief Fleet

After a tour as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet from May 2001, Band was promoted to full admiral and served as Commander-in-Chief Fleet, responsible for the preparation and operation of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the Royal Navy based at Northwood between August 2002 and November 2005.

In 2003 he spoke out for the crew of , for their efforts on achieving the longest deployment time of a submarine. Turbulent was away for more than ten months and he stated "They are a huge credit. The submarine has done the equivalent of going twice around the world." In March 2004 he spent several weeks touring naval facilities and ships in the Caribbean, including Antigua.

In the Trafalgar 200 celebrations, celebrating the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Band attended the ceremonies and the fleet review in the UK. In an interview, he stated:

First Sea Lord

In February 2006 Band took over the positions of First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff from Admiral Sir Alan West and in a press statement set out the Navy's priorities in the 21st century. Upon taking up the post of First Sea Lord he became the professional head of the Royal Navy. Band is a proponent for the Sustained surface combatant capability and the creation of new ships to maintain the Royal Navy as one of the world's leading navies.

In February 2007, at a journalists' briefing, he warned that the Royal Navy needed another £1 billion to meet future foreign policy demands and appealed to the Government for additional funding, a third of the navy's annual operating budget, to spend on building more modern ships. In a later interview with the Daily Telegraph he said that an increase of more than 30 per cent in the fleet's day-to-day budget was necessary to pay for better sailors' wages, the running of ships and improved accommodation. He threatened to resign as head of the navy if the Government failed to agree to pay for two new aircraft carriers – the Royal Navy CVF programme, which it had previously promised.

In May 2007 the Government gave the £3.9bn go-ahead for the new aircraft carriers. Band said:

Quote|This is a significant decision to invest in the future, to be able to deliver air power around the world. I am entirely content that the country will get the navy it deserves; a powerful navy for the future; which is entirely right because we are a large player on the world scene.|Jonathan Band|Interview with the Guardian, 2007 He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 2008 Birthday Honours and succeeded by Mark Stanhope as First Sea Lord on 21 July 2009.

Later professional life Band became a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire on 27 November 2009 and a non-executive director of the cruise company Carnival Corporation & plc, in April 2010. He has served on the Boards of Directors of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc. He is Chair of Carnival's Health, Environmental, Safety & Security Committees. He is also a defence adviser at British defence firm Babcock International and a non-executive director of military consultancy Survitec Group.

Band was a patron of the International Scott Centenary Expedition 2012; its aim was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Scott's race to the South Pole and the subsequent deaths of the polar party on the Ross Ice Shelf.

Band is a Younger Brother of Trinity House and a liveryman of the Shipwrights' Company.

Personal life In 1979 he married Sarah Asbury: they have two daughters He is Patron of the local residents association (the Southsea Association).