Melanie Robinson
Naval officer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Commodore Melanie Suzanne Robinson, CBE, ADC is a retired British senior Royal Naval Reserve officer. She was Commander of Maritime Reserves from February 2020 until retirement in July 2023.[2]
Melanie Robinson | |
|---|---|
Commodore Melanie Robinson in February 2020 | |
| Born | Melanie Suzanne Rees[1] |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Service years | 1993–2023 |
| Rank | Commodore |
| Commands | Maritime Reserve HMS Express Wales University Royal Naval Unit |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
| Alma mater | Cardiff University Open University |
| Spouse | |
Early life and education
Robinson has a degree from Cardiff University.[3] She also has a Master of Science (MSc) degree in human resource management from the Open University.[4]
Naval career
She was commissioned in Supplementary List of the Royal Navy as a sub-lieutenant on 6 January 1993.[5] She was appointed to the Trained Strength on 15 October 1994.[5] Her early career was as a warfare officer, serving in a number of frigates and minor war vessels.[3]
As commander of the Cardiff University Royal Naval Unit (now Wales URNU) and its training ship HMS Express, despite her claim to be the first (https://windsorleadership.org.uk/mel-robinson-biography), she was one of the first cohort of women to command a Royal Navy patrol vessel- still a remarkable achievement, so no need to over-egg it.[3][6][7] She transferred to the Royal Naval Reserve with the rank of commander in November 2015.[8] She was promoted to commodore on 4 February 2020, and was then one of four women to hold that rank.[6][9]
Robinson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 Birthday Honours.[10]
Personal life
In 1998, she married Guy Robinson.[1][11] Vice Admiral Robinson is a fellow retired Royal Navy officer whose last draft was with NATO as Chief of Staff to Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.[12] They have two children.[11]