Ian Forbes

For the Canadian ice hockey defenceman, see Ian Forbes (ice hockey)
Admiral Sir Ian Andrew Forbes KCB CBE (born 24 October 1946) is a former Royal Navy officer who became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

Educated at Eastbourne College, Forbes joined the Royal Navy in 1965. His early service included time in the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia, a US Exchange Tour in the destroyer USS William H. Standley, in the frigate HMS Whitby as Navigating Officer during the Cod War, and as Operations Officer in the destroyer HMS Glamorgan during the Falklands War. Thereafter, he was the Staff Operations Officer to the Flag Officer Third Flotilla in his NATO hat as Commander Anti-Submarine Warfare Striking Force (CASWSF), the Royal Navy’s key operational link with the US Striking Fleet at sea in Cold War Norwegian Sea Operations.

He was given command of the patrol craft HMS Kingfisher, the frigate HMS Diomede, the frigate HMS Chatham, and the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1994 for his work in the Ministry of Defence on the Bosnian War. During his time in HMS Invincible, he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in 1996 following the ship’s contribution to NATO’s Operation Deliberate Force, the bombing campaign against the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After promotion to rear admiral in 1996, he was appointed Military Advisor to Carl Bildt at the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo charged with reconstructing Bosnia and Herzegovina following the Bosnian War. He also acted as the Chief of Staff in the Office of the High Representative during this period. Appointed as the Commander of the United Kingdom Task Group, he led the Battle Group's contribution during the Gulf Crisis of 1997, and during the NATO led Kosovo War in the Adriatic Sea in 1998. This appointment carried with it the NATO post of Commander Anti-Submarine Warfare Striking Force. He went on to become the Commander of the Surface Flotilla in 2000, and was then sent, in the rank of Admiral, in 2002 to the Supreme Allied Command Atlantic (SACLANT) in Norfolk, Virginia, USA as the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander. In this post, he filled the role of Supreme Commander as the last SACLANT. Whilst doing so, he was the architect of the new NATO Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk with responsibilities for the delivery of a transformation process across the Alliance mandated at the Prague Summit in 2003. Appointed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 2003, he retired as the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in 2004. For his work in Norfolk, he was awarded the inaugural NATO Meritorious Service Medal by the NATO Secretary General, George Robertson, at the NATO Defence Ministerial Meeting in Colorado Springs in 2003. In the following year, the US Government awarded him the US Legion of Merit.

In retirement, Forbes has become an advisor to Booz & Company, now Strategy&, the management consultancy arm of pwc. He was also Chairman of the Governors of Eastbourne College from 2005.

Chairman of the Naval Review from 2006 until 2013, he is currently the President of the Forces Pension Society. He is also the President of the HMS Glamorgan Association, established following the ship’s service in the Falklands War. He is married to Sally who is sponsor of the survey vessel HMS Enterprise.