Robert Fry

Sir Robert Fry
Lieutenant General Sir Robert Fry (self-portrait taken in Baghdad 2007)
Born	(1951-04-06) 6 April 1951
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Marines
Years of service	1973–2007
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	45 Commando 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines
Battles/wars	Gulf War Kosovo War Iraq War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Lieutenant General Sir Robert Alan Fry KCB CBE (born 6 April 1951)^[1] served as a Royal Marine for over 30 years and was involved in military operations in Northern Ireland, the Gulf, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. After retirement from military service he went into private business and, in 2007, became CEO of Hewlett Packard's defence and security business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2010 he was appointed chairman of McKinney Rogers International and subsequently, in 2011, Albany Associates.

Early career

After taking a degree in economics at the University of Bath and working for a period in commerce in New York, Fry joined the Royal Marines in 1973.^[2] His early career was spent at regimental and special duties. Attendance at the Army Staff College was followed by tours in the Ministry of Defence and Directorate of Special Forces, a sequence punctuated in the 1986/7 academic year when he studied for an MA (Distinction) in War Studies at King's College London.^[3]

Senior military career

In 1989, Fry was appointed Chief of staff, HQ 3 Commando Brigade, and subsequently took part in Operation Haven in Northern Iraq. This was followed by a return to the Ministry of Defence before taking command of 45 Commando in 1995. In 1997, in the rank of brigadier, he became the Director Naval Staff in the Ministry of Defence, after which he took over command of 3 Commando Brigade in 1999 and deployed to Kosovo.^[4]

He was appointed Commandant General Royal Marines in 2001,^[5] and a year later he took up the job of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces, in which capacity he deployed as the UK Maritime Component Commander for operations in the Gulf.^[6]

He assumed the post of Chief of Staff at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood in May 2002 and remained in the job throughout the planning for and conduct of operations against Iraq. He took over the job of Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) in July 2003 and advised successive Prime Ministers on the conduct of operations in response to the 9/11 attacks.

In 2004, as the British military's head of strategic planning, Fry proposed switching British forces to Afghanistan from Iraq, rather than, as US commanders wanted, sending more troops to the Iraqi theatre. His plan was based on an assumption that southern Iraq, where British troops were based, was becoming more peaceful, and that it was safe for the British to withdraw. But by 2006, when the British shifted their strength from Basra in Iraq to Helmand in Afghanistan, both regions were racked with violence, and it became clear that Britain lacked sufficient troops or equipment to control either conflict. American forces were obliged to step in to secure both Basra and Helmand after the British suffered heavy casualties.^[7]

He was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq in March 2006^[8] and retired in 2007.^[2]

Later career

From July 2007 to March 2010, Fry served as CEO of HP Enterprise Services Defence & Security UK,^[9] where he ran HPs $1.5 billion Europe, Africa and Middle East defense business.^[4] In January 2010 he was appointed chairman of the business consultancy McKinney Rogers International and in 2011 became chairman of Albany Associates.^[9] He remains an advisor to HP and a number of other companies in the defence and banking sectors.^[4]

Fry is an established essayist and occasional columnist.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]} He is also a visiting professor at Reading University^[3] and a visiting fellow at Oxford University.^[6] He is also a member the Royal United Services Institute executive council and a trustee of Help for Heroes.^[22]

Awards

Early on in his career Fry was Mentioned in Dispatches and was awarded the MBE. Later on he was appointed CBE for services as commander of a multinational brigade in Kosovo in 1998. In July 2003, he was appointed KCB for his services as Director of Operations in the MoD, and was made Officer of the Legion of Merit in 2006 for his final operational tour as Deputy Commanding General of coalition forces in Iraq.^[23]

Family

He is married to Liz and they have two daughters. He maintains his military links as colonel of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, and is a Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers.^[1]

References