Ray Griggs (admiral)

Vice Admiral Raymond James "Ray" Griggs (born 1961) is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy and has been the Chief of Navy (CN) since 7 June 2011.

Early years
Ray Griggs was born in Homebush, New South Wales in 1961.

Early career
Griggs joined the Adelaide Port Division of the Royal Australian Navy Reserve in 1978 as a radio operator. He entered the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Creswell on a "short service commission" in 1979. In his early years, Griggs served on the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and HMA ships Yarra and Advance. He then spent 12 months with the Royal Navy on HMS Jersey where he gained his Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate. In late 1981 he was posted to HMAS Perth as a Bridge Watchkeeper and deployed to the North West Indian Ocean.

Promoted to Lieutenant, from 1983 to 1994 he completed a series of postings as Navigating Officer of HMA Ships Cessnock, Torrens, Tobruk, Jervis Bay and Perth. Other roles included: aide-de-camp to His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, Sir James Plimsoll; two postings in the Navy's officer career management directorate; Staff Officer (Navigation) to the Commander Australian Patrol Boat Forces; and at Australian Defence Headquarters in Canberra, Deputy Director Military Strategy as Lieutenant Commander, and Director Future Warfare as Captain.

Command career
From 1995 to 1997 he served as commissioning Executive Officer of HMAS Anzac, helping to bring the Anzac class frigates into service. In October 2001 he assumed command of the ANZAC class frigate HMAS Arunta and was immediately involved in border protection duties as part of Operation RELEX. Arunta then deployed to the Persian Gulf to enforce United Nations sanctions against Iraq and in support of "The War on Terror". The ship was recognized for her efforts by being awarded the Duke of Gloucester Cup for being the most operationally efficient ship in the RAN fleet for 2002. In 2003 he was posted as the ANZAC class Capability Element Manager in Rockingham, Western Australia. In 2004 he studied at the National War College in Washington D.C., prior to assuming command of the Australian Amphibious Task Group in mid-2005.

He was promoted to Commodore in February 2006 and appointed as the Deputy Maritime (Fleet) Commander until assuming the position of Director General Navy Strategic Policy and Futures in Navy Headquarters in September 2007. In February 2008 he was seconded to the Defence White Paper team where he led the development of the Force Structure Review that provided the force structure underpinning the 2009 White Paper. In early 2009 he attended the UK Higher Command and Staff Course and was subsequently promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed as Deputy Head Strategic Reform and Governance. In May 2010 he was posted as Deputy Chief of Joint Operations.

Education

 * Bachelor of Arts, University of Queensland
 * Master of Business Administration, National Graduate School of Management, Australian National University
 * Master of Science (National Security Strategy), National Defense University, Washington D.C.

Personal life
Griggs is married and has a daughter and a son.

Honours and awards
Griggs was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1997, a Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2003 for his work in the Persian Gulf, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009.

Griggs was elevated to an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours list, 'For distinguished service to the Australian Defence Force as Deputy Head Strategic Reform and Governance, Deputy Chief of Joint Operations, and Chief of the Royal Australian Navy'.







VADM Griggs has also been awarded the RAN's "Principal Warfare Officer" badge and the RAN's "Sea Readiness Badge" with Gold Star.