Lieutenant Commander Carl Wiseman Royal Navy

Lieutenant Commander Carl Wiseman was born in Sheffield in 1972 and educated at Hele’s School in Plymouth before entering Britannia Royal Naval College in 1990.  After completing Fleet Training in HMS Dumbarton Castle (Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel) and HMS Cornwall (West Indies Guard Ship), he read a BA in Maritime Defence, Technology and Management at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, Plymouth, graduating with honours in 1994. Thereafter, after completing junior professional warfare Officer training in 1995, he was appointed to HMS Cattistock as the Navigating Officer conducting a varied programme of Fishery Protection and Operational MCM duties.  Initially appointed as OOW1 of the Type 22 Frigate HMS Brave 1997, he then completed the Frigate Navigating Officer’s course and was appointed as Navigating Officer conducting a Falkland Islands Guardship and a Mediterranean deployment prior to the ship decommissioning in 1999.

After navigating, Lieutenant Commander Wiseman was selected for command, and, in May 1999, was appointed as Officer In Charge of Aberdeen Universities’ Royal Naval Unit and Commanding Officer of HMS Archer.  During two years in command, Carl was responsible for providing the 50 URNU Midshipmen with experience of the Royal Navy through shore-based training in Aberdeen and sea experience in HMS Archer deploying to Norway and completing a circumnavigation of the United Kingdom and Ireland. He completed the Joint Services Initial Staff Course in 2001 prior to undertaking the Principal Warfare Officers (PWO) Course at HMS Dryad, graduating in November 2002 as an Anti-Submarine Warfare specialist.  He was appointed as PWO(U) and later Operations Officer of the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Glasgow conducting an Atlantic Patrol Task (South) deployment prior to successfully completing the Specialist Navigating Officers Course at MWS Collingwood in 2004.

Appointed as the Operations Officer of the Ice Patrol Ship HMS Endurance in 2004, he completed three austral summer deployments patrolling and surveying the Antarctic and South Atlantic, maintaining Sovereign Presence with Defence Diplomacy and supporting the global community of Antarctica. This involved close links with the Foreign Office, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and the British Antarctic Survey.  The highlight of this highly rewarding appointment was completing the duties as the Royal Review Ship at the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.  In April 2007, Carl was appointed to the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) in Northwood, in the J3 Operations Division where he worked initially as a Desk Officer in support of operations in Iraq (Op Telic).  This included deploying to the Multi-National Headquarters in Basra as a Liaison Officer prior to becoming a Desk Officer responsible for wider Maritime Issues including Anti-Piracy.  He assumed Command of HMS Mersey in June 2009.