Vice Admiral Sir Martin Connell CBE

Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Royal Navy

Martin Connell was appointed Second Sea Lord in January 2022. He is responsible for delivery of the Royal Navy’s future capabilities, strategy and long-term programme and is the Principal Personnel Officer. His early career included various seagoing assignments, initially as a Lynx helicopter observer and then as a principal warfare officer. He has had the privilege of commanding at sea on a number of occasions, including the former aircraft carrier and flagship HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and joint operational command at 1* level while serving as Commander of the UK’s Amphibious Task Group. Ashore he has completed numerous tours in the central staff of the Ministry of Defence, served as the British Naval Attaché in Washington D.C. and prior to this role, was the Royal Navy's Force Generation Director, Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm and Senior Responsible Owner of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programme. He is a graduate of the US Naval War College (2004-05), the Higher Command and Staff Course (2011), the US CAPSTONE Course (2017) and UK Pinnacle (2021). He is President of Royal Navy Football, the chair of the Greenwich Hospital Advisory Board and a trustee of the Naval Children’s Charity.