Michael Utley (Royal Navy officer)


Michael Keith Utley, is a senior Royal Navy officer.

Naval career

Educated at Cowbridge School, Utley joined the Royal Navy in 1990. He became the commanding officer of the patrol ship HMS Exploit in 1995, of the patrol ship HMS Leeds Castle in 2003 and of the patrol ship HMS Tyne in 2004 before becoming commanding officer of the frigate HMS Portland in 2006. He went on to become Commander Sea Training in 2010 before being appointed the last commanding officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in May 2013 and in that role was deployed to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in November 2013. After that he became commander of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in June 2017, Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group in October 2018 and Commander United Kingdom Strike Force in December 2019.
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services in Afghanistan in the 2015 Special Honours.