Commander Simon Howell
Joined the RN in 1981 as a General List seaman officer and completed a number of watchkeeping roles, including as Navigator in HMS LINDISFARNE (86-88) and CUMBERLAND (89-91) and he was also the Navigator on the Dartmouth Training Squadron Staff (88-89). Commanding Officer of the Dartmouth Navigation Training Ship HMS WILTON (91-93). A PWO (A), he served in HMS INVINCIBLE and RICHMOND and then returned to Officer training to run the Initial Sea Training Staff (96-98) before becoming the XO of HMS ARGYLL (98-2000). Following the first ACSC held at Shrivenham, he became the Fleet XO, was promoted Cdr in 2004 and was the Fleet NBCD/CBRNDC Officer before becoming the Commanding Officer HMS EXCELLENT (07-10). A seven month Optour on the OPLAT in the Northern Gulf was followed by a role back in the Personnel Area in Navy Command HQ. In 2013 he left regular service but didn’t find anything that suited him and he returned to NCHQ and spent 10 years (14-24) as SO1 Exec, where he has fulfilled a wide range of responsibilities including leading the Compulsory Drug Testing Team, having the policy lead for uniform, the divisional system and a host of unglamorous executive issues. Lives in Felpham, West Sussex with his wife Emma.