Maritime Reserves

Military experience

Commodore John Keegan joined the Royal Navy in 1977, passing out of Britannia Royal Naval College in 1978 and graduating from the Royal Naval Engineering College at Manadon in 1981.

His Sea Service has included HMS Manchester (on build), HMS Liverpool (Technical Officer), HMS Exeter (Warfare Officer), HMS Cardiff and HMS Invincible (Engineering Head of Department). He has also served on the staff of Flag Officer Sea Training.

Ashore he has served in the Procurement Executive, as the Senior Student on the Royal Naval Staff Course Greenwich, the Ministry of Defence (four times), as the Senior Naval Officer for Defence Analysis, as the Contingent Planner for Commander-in-Chief, and on a six month secondment to the BP Amoco HQ.

He was promoted Commodore in April 2005 on taking up an appointment as the Director of Naval Career Management and then took command of HMS Raleigh in February 2006. Since then he has become a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies based at Seaford House. His most recent appointments include 15 months as Director Implementation of the MOD Head office Streamlining Programme and as Commodore Studies on the Naval Staff.

An Alumni of the Windsor Leadership Trust (1999), the Defence Strategic Leadership Course (2005), the Defence Strategic Management Course (2009) and the Manchester Business School (2010). He is also a Freeman of the City of London (1999) and a City Liveryman (2000). He was elected to be a Member of the Royal Philatelic Society (2002), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2006) and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (2010). He enjoys all forms of motor sports. John is married to Susan and has two children