Commodore Portsmouth Flotilla

Born in 1959, entering the Navy in 1978, Cochrane’s early sea time was spent in Minesweepers in both Hong Kong and Northern Ireland.

In 1982 he circumnavigated the globe in the Royal Yacht Britannia for HM the Queen’s tours of Australia and the Pacific Islands. In 1983 he navigated the Frigate HMS Ambuscade and from 1984-85 he was ADC to HE the Governor of Gibraltar.

In 1986, he navigated the Destroyer HMS Exeter before service as the Principal Warfare Officer in the Frigate HMS Scylla, operating in the Gulf during the Iran-Iraq tanker war.

In 1989-90 he undertook two deployments to the Antarctic navigating the Ice Patrol ship HMS Endurance following which he navigated HM Ships Coventry and Fearless.

In 1993, he took command of the minehunter HMS Brecon and in 1995 he was the second in command of the destroyer HMS Nottingham which operated in the Adriatic.

Promoted Commander in 1996, he was appointed to the Fleet HQ. In 1998-2000 he commanded the Frigate HMS Somerset when the ship deployed to the Gulf for the 1998 Iraq crisis, and visited the Baltic for a visit to Russia as Flagship for a Royal Visit.

In 1999, Somerset was the first RN ship for 140 years to be placed under the operational control of the French Navy, operating in the Adriatic for the Kosovo Crisis. The ship later deployed to Sierra Leone, South America and the Falkland Islands.

In January 2000 he joined the Policy Directorate of the MOD where he worked to develop the capabilities required of the UK armed forces for 2020.

Promoted Captain in 2002, he took command of the Frigate HMS Chatham in July 2002 immediately sailing for operational tasking in the Eastern Mediterranean. The ship deployed again from January – August 2003 for the war with Iraq. On leaving the Gulf, Chatham undertook anti terrorist patrols in the Indian Ocean.

In 2004 he spent a year at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London before rejoining the MOD Policy Directorate for 2½ years working on the UK’s political Defence Policy for NATO and the European Union.

In June 2007 he assumed command of the Surface Ship Training directorate of Flag Officer Sea Training. This position, was in essence the Chief Inspector of ships where he set the standard for not only the ships of the Royal Navy but also the 15 other nations that sent their ships to the UK to be trained.

Promoted Commodore in 2008 he studied Global Trends out to 2040 at the Defence Centre for Doctrine and Concepts in Shrivenham (the MOD in house Think Tank).

During the 2010 Defence Review he led the team looking at the 35,000 personnel based overseas.

In September 2011 he assumed command of the Portsmouth Flotilla of 28 ships, the Navy’s deployable mine clearance divers and 16 Patrol boats.

Decorated with an operational OBE and Mentioned in Despatches for gallantry, Cochrane also holds the French Croix de la Valeur Militaire with Silver Star and the US Bronze Star.

He is the Great Great Great Grandson of Admiral Lord Cochrane, the 10th Earl of Dundonald a heroic Naval Commander and South American Liberator. He is a Younger Brother of Trinity House, a member of The Royal Yacht Squadron and of The Royal Company of Archers (the Queen’s bodyguard in Scotland).

Married and living in Hampshire with 2 young children, he is keen on shooting, skiing, sailing and old cars.