HMS Turbulent

Military experience

Commander Nick Wheeler completed schooling on the Channel Island of Jersey and at Bryanston School in Dorset. He joined the Royal Navy in 1991 and after Fleet Time in HMS Jersey and HMS Cumberland he completed the in-service 'DARTMAN' degree.

Volunteering for the Submarine Service in 1996, he undertook his Part 3 training in HMS Torbay followed by a first complement appointment in HMS Triumph, before completing navigation training in 1998.

After a brief period navigating HMS Trenchant, he joined HMS Turbulent, also as the Navigator, and was involved in a wide range of operations.

After Advanced Warfare Course he returned to sea in 2000 as a Watch Leader in HMS Victorious, undertaking 2 strategic patrols, before joining HMS Torbay for 18 months as the Operations Officer, a period that included an extended US East Coast deployment.

Slipping through ‘Perisher’ in 2004, he was appointed to HMS Spartan as Executive Officer and completed a challenging and highly enjoyable, if disappointingly short, tour, which included 3 separate periods of operations and the first deployment of the Alamanda Dry Hangar capability.

2 and a half years on the staff of COMUKMARFOR followed, which included a wide variety of employment, including support to Joint Operations, in locations as varied as the USA, Pakistan and India. In addition he completed a 6 month OPTOUR as the J5 Maritime Planner at MND(SE) HQ in Basra, Southern Iraq.

He was selected for Advanced Command and Staff Course and successfully achieved the award of an MA in Defence Studies in July 2009, before returning to sea as Executive Officer of HMS Vanguard (Starboard), completing one strategic patrol.

Promoted Commander in January 2010 and after a brief period at Navy Command HQ, as the desk officer responsible for the integration of future SM and SF capabilities, he took Command of HMS Torbay in July 2010. A highly varied programme, focussed primarily on traditional SSN running in the NE Atlantic, came to an end as Torbay went onto a long maintenance period and in December 2011 he took Command of HMS Turbulent.

Commander Wheeler lives, with his family, in Milford on Sea, near Lymington, on the Southern edge of the New Forest. A keen, but accident prone, mountain biker, on the rare occasions the weather plays along he is a passionate windsurfer and occasional yachtsman.