Catherine Jordan

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Catherine Jordan

ADC
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Commodore Catherine Jordan, LVO (born October 1974) is a senior Royal Navy officer who currently serves as Head of the Royal Navy Culture Centre.[1]

In 2002 she became the first female Flight Commander in the Royal Navy and in 2022 she was one of the four captains involved in the first time women had been in command of all four of the Royal Navy's training establishments.

Also in 2022, she led the Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage during the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. For this she was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in silver and became a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.

Early life

Jordan was born in October 1974 and grew up in Easington, County Durham.[2][3] She received her education at Wellfield Community School in the nearby town of Wingate and Gordonstoun School, an independent school in Moray, Scotland.[2][4][5] She became interested in the Royal Navy as a teenager.[2]

Naval career

Jordan joined

University Cadet Aviator, being sponsored to study for a law degree at the University of Manchester. She completed initial fleet training on the ships HMS Broadsword, Brave and Northumberland and, after passing out from Dartmouth, she began her law degree, graduating in 1997.[4][6][7] She was selected for training on the Westland Lynx, qualifying on both the Lynx Mk.3 and Mk.8 as a Flight Observer under the Fleet Air Arm, an individual responsible for the navigation, communications systems and weaponry of a helicopter.[4][5][6][8]

She performed two tours in the Mediterranean as part of NATO counterterrorism operations and was later appointed as the first female flight commander in the Royal Navy and the first flight commander of the newly commissioned Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans in 2002.[4][5][6][7][9] In the build-up to the Iraq War in 2003, she regenerated and commanded Gibraltar Flight from RAF Gibraltar, performing maritime security operations in the Mediterranean due to the increased terror threat for 3 months before returning to HMS St Albans, where she completed a deployment in the Middle East under Operation Calash.[4][6][9]

After initial

operations officer for gunnery and surface warfare on HMS Iron Duke, with which she took part in deployments to the Arctic Circle and the Caribbean.[4][6][9] Next she served with Combined Task Force 158 in Iraq, with her third tour being as Operations Officer on HMS Albion.[5][6][9]

In 2007 Jordan joined the Fleet Battle Staff, in which she spent the next six months as the staff operations officer to the commander of the task force in the Persian Gulf, the task force responsible for the protection of Iraqi oil platforms.[4]

Sea commands and Fleet Air Arm

After her selection for Sea Command, Jordan took command of HMS Severn, a River-class offshore patrol vessel of the Overseas Patrol Squadron, in February 2010.[2][4][6][9] In March 2011, her ship and its crew was awarded the Offshore Patrol Vessel Efficiency Trophy for their work over the preceding year.[5][9] In July 2011, she took command of HMS Clyde, another River-class. HMS Clyde was sent to the Falkland Islands to relieve the HMS Dumbarton Castle as the Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel, which is where it served for the next six months.[4][6]

In 2012, Jordan returned to the Fleet Air Arm as part of the implementation team for the Fleet Air Arm Manpower Sustainability Project before being promoted to commander. On 10 December 2013, she took command of HMS St Albans to regenerate the ship following refits that began in April of that year in preparation for operations in the Middle East.[4][6][7][9][10]

In May 2017, Jordan was appointed as aviation chief of staff, Carrier Strike & Aviation Division. In September 2019, she was appointed as commander of the shore establishment HMS Collingwood and the Maritime Warfare School.[4][7]

2020-present

At some point between September 2019 and 22 July 2022, Jordan was promoted to captain. At that point in 2022, she and three other captains, Captains Suzi Nielsen, Sarah Oakley, and Johanna Deakin, spoke to the Royal Navy in regards to the fact that it was the first time all four of the Royal Navy's training establishments, HMS Raleigh, HMS Dartmouth, HMS Sultan, and HMS Collingwood had been under the command of women. Jordan said of this "The good thing about us all being in this position now, is that there’s a high probability it will happen again." They also spoke of their pride in being able to inspire recruits and trainees at the beginning of their careers.[11][12]

During the preparations for and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Jordan was responsible for the state ceremonial team and led the Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage alongside Commander Steve Elliott, who served as her deputy during the procession;[7][13][14][15] for Elliott, it was his final duty in uniform after 32 years of service.[14][15] Jordan was the most senior Royal Naval officer to take part in the procession.[1]

Jordan can be seen to the left of this image, leading the Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage alongside Commander Steve Elliott

On 11 October 2022, Jordan handed command of HMS Collingwood and the Maritime Warfare School to Captain Tim Davey.[16]

On 9 January 2023, Jordan was promoted to commodore.[17] For her role in the state funeral, she was honoured as a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order on the 25 March 2023 Honours List on The Demise of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.[18] On May 30 2023, 142 men and women of all ranks and branches, including Jordan, were presented the Royal Victorian Medal in silver personally by King Charles III.[1]

Personal life

On 25 December 2012, Jordan gave birth to her first child, a daughter.[6][9] Since that time, she has given birth to a further two children.[4]

She has been a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, a Younger Brother of Trinity House, a Freeman of the City of London, the fundraising committee for the National Museum of the Royal Navy and has been a trustee of the Women’s Royal Naval Service Benevolent Trust since 2016 and vice chair since 2018.[4][7][19][20]

Catherine has been married to Captain Andy Jordan, ADC, a now retired Royal Naval officer, since before 2016.[4][6][21]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Royal Navy sailors receive honours for services at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral". Royal Navy. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Catherine comes home in a warship". The Northern Echo. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  3. ^ "CATHERINE ELIZABETH JORDAN - HAMPSHIRE - SERVING OFFICER, ROYAL NAVY". www.checkcompany.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Captain Catherine Jordan Royal Navy" (PDF). Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Warship officer's proudest moment". The Northern Echo. 2011-03-29. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Commander Catherine Jordan Royal Navy" (PDF). Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Cdre Catherine Jordan LVO RN | The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity". www.rnrmc.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  8. ^ "AIRCREW OFFICER OBSERVER". Royal Navy. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "CO HMS St Albans hosts schoolgirl visit". www.fleetairarmoa.org. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  10. ^ "HMS St Albans". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Royal Navy captains talk of pride at commanding training establishments". Royal Navy. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  12. ^ Knuckey, James (2022-06-29). "History made as women command all four of Royal Navy's major training bases". Forces Network. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  13. ^ Mitchell, Ben; Cottrell, Hannah (2022-09-15). "'The Queen's funeral will be my last act after 32 years in the Royal Navy'". My London. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  14. ^ a b Saxena, sangeeta (2022-09-21). "Royal Navy's key role at Queen's funeral | ADU Media". ADU - Aviation Defence Universe. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  15. ^ a b "Navy staff 'honoured and privileged' to take part in Queen's funeral procession". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  16. ^ Young, Robin (11 October 2022). "Captain takes up new role as Collingwood Commanding Officer". The Gosport and Fareham Globe. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Page 7818 | Supplement 64028, 18 April 2023 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  18. ^ "Page D1 | Supplement 64008, 25 March 2023 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  19. ^ "History". WRNS Benevolent Trust. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  20. ^ Fleming, Emma (2018-06-13). "All change at the top for the Women's Royal Naval Service Benevolent Trust". Cobseo. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  21. ^ "The 2016 Collingwood Lecture | The Collingwood Society". 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
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