Rodney Taylor

Vice Admiral Rodney Graham Taylor, (11 June 1940 – 1 September 2002) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, serving as Chief of Navy from 1994 to 1997. Born in Queensland, Taylor entered the Royal Australian Naval College at the age of thirteen. Graduating as dux of his year in 1957, he later specialised in navigation and served during the Vietnam War. Commanding as well as , Taylor planned and coordinated the deployment of Australian ships during the Gulf War. Retiring from the navy in 1997, Taylor died from lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 62.

Early life Taylor was born in the Queensland town of Toowoomba on 11 June 1940, the second son of Len and Vera Taylor. In 1954, Taylor joined the Royal Australian Naval College at the land base ; he was one of the last officers to enlist in the Royal Australian Navy as a thirteen-year-old. During his time at the college, Taylor excelled academically as well as in cricket and rugby.

Naval career Early service In December 1957, Taylor graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College and was awarded the Queen’s Medal as dux of his year as well as the Grand Aggregate Prize, and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy. Completing a period of training at sea aboard , Taylor was posted to England for further instruction at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, from which he graduated in 1959.

Posted back to Australia, Taylor was appointed to the staff of the Naval College at HMAS Creswell in Jervis Bay. Early in 1972, Taylor was returned to Britain in order to complete the advanced navigation course at . Finalising his instruction later that year, Taylor was appointed navigator aboard , which was then engaged in logistic support of Australian forces in Vietnam, For his services as Deputy Fleet Commander and Commodore Flotillas, Taylor was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

During 1990, Taylor was promoted to rear admiral and made Assistant Chief of Defence Force (Operations). Taylor's appointment to this position coincided with the commencement of the Gulf War, and as such he planned and coordinated the deployment of Royal Australian Navy ships to the Persian Gulf for service as part of Operation Desert Storm. During this time, Taylor was required to work closely with the Australian Government and became "adept at briefing the PM, ministers and other VIP visitors to the ops room".

Chief of Navy In 1994, Taylor was promoted to vice admiral and appointed Chief of Naval Staff. During his service as head of the Navy, Taylor supervised several major reforms to the service, including the withdrawal of British-built ships and Royal Navy crewed submarines in favour of American-built destroyers and Australian frigates and submarines. He also implemented reforms concerning pay, conditions and rank structure as well as leading the Royal Australian Navy to become more tolerant towards homosexuals and women at sea.

During February 1997, the position of Chief of Naval Staff was renamed as Chief of Navy, which coincided with the release of an efficiency review commissioned by the then Defence Minister. The review reduced the command responsibilities of the three service chiefs, which were instead to reside with the Chief of the Defence Force. Just prior to his retirement, Taylor was able to lessen the impact of some of the reform proposals and advocated that the Collins class submarine project proceed. In June, Taylor was awarded the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) from Singapore for his "significant contributions in forging excellent ties and friendship between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)". He retired from the Navy later that month.

Retirement Following his retirement from the Navy, Taylor and his wife purchased a property at Wamboin, New South Wales, where they raised alpacas. On 1 September 2002, Taylor died of lung cancer at the age of 62; he had previously undergone heart surgery in 1993.