FOSNNI is the Royal Navy’s most senior officer in Scotland and is responsible for all Royal Navy and Royal Marines recruiting, cadet forces and the service’s engagement with society across the UK.
Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland (FOSNNI)
Rear Admiral C J Hockley MSc CEng CMarEng
Chris was educated at Dulwich College in London before joining the Navy in September 1977. Having passed out of the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and undertaken initial sea training, he went to the Royal Naval Engineering College at Manadon, Plymouth to take his Bachelor’s degree in Naval Engineering. Having been successfully awarded his Honours degree and after some further specialist engineering application training, he joined the anti-submarine frigate HMS ARGONAUT emerging from post Falkland Islands war repair/refit, as the Assistant Marine Engineer Officer. Gaining his Marine Charge Qualification whilst onboard, he qualified as a Flight Deck Officer and eventually returned to Manadon to take a Master’s degree in Marine Engineering. He returned to sea in 1986 as the Deputy Marine Engineer Officer of the brand new Type 22 frigate HMS BRAVE as she, amongst other things, carried out the initial series of sea trials of the Rolls Royce Spey SM1A gas turbines.
1988 saw Chris get his first taste of Defence Procurement when he joined the Type 23 project as the Machinery Control and Surveillance project engineer at MoD, Bath. On promotion to Lieutenant Commander in 1990 he was given a short notice re-appointment to be the Senior Engineer of the Aircraft Carrier HMS ARK ROYAL; a tour of duty which included preparations for and service during the Gulf War. Passing the Royal Naval Staff Course, at Greenwich in 1992 was the next milestone before a very short appointment in the Naval Support Command Implementation Team and promotion to Commander in February 1993.
Joining the Staff of the Commander in Chief Fleet at the Joint Headquarters in Northwood as the Marine Engineering Staff Officer, Chris had direction of the Naval Party in the Falklands and was part of the team that developed the Engineering staff and policy changes required for the major restructuring and right-sizing of the CINCFLEET organisation. From 1995 to 1997 he was a project manager in the Directorate of Operational Requirements (Sea) with particular responsibility for stipulating the requirements, and achieving funding and approval for Support vessels including the new RoRo ferries, the Trimaran (TS Triton) and all matters concerning Marine Engineering, particularly the MoD UK Electric Ship programme. Leaving Whitehall in 1997 he joined the Aircraft Carrier HMS ILLUSTRIOUS as the Marine Engineer Officer seeing a tour in the Gulf supporting air operations over Iraq and a significant docking period which included the removal of the Seadart system and the conversion to operate RAF aircraft. Just prior to the ship’s exit from this docking period, Chris was re-appointed to the other operational Carrier, HMS INVINCIBLE, as she deployed back out to the Gulf.
1999 saw his promotion to Captain and a new appointment as the Performance Manager and then Deputy Integrated Project Team Leader for the UK’s Future Carrier programme within the Defence Procurement Agency. In the summer of 2002 he took up his next appointment as the Military Assistant to the Chief of Defence Procurement/Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency, firstly with Sir Robert Walmsley and then Sir Peter Spencer. A short appointment in the Defence Logistic Transformation Team leading a diagnostic study to identify further effectiveness gains across the Maritime Domain preceded his promotion to Commodore and appointment as Technical Services Director 2 then Director Supportability and Logistics with particular responsibility for Land customer issues in the new, joint DLO/DPA Technical Enabling Services as well as leading the TES Change Team. In October 2007 he became Naval Base Commander (Clyde), and in January 2008 was appointed ADC to HM the Queen.
Promoted to Rear Admiral, Chris took up the post of Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Wales & Northern Ireland and Flag Officer Regional Forces in September 2011 and will divide his time between Scotland and his home in Cornwall. Chris is married to Kate and they have 5 grown up children between them. He and Kate enjoy walking with their 2 dogs, boating and watching Rugby. Chris is the President of the RN Amateur Fencing Association.
