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Force Information

Commander EU Naval Force - Rear Admiral Peter Hudson
Deputy Operation Commander EU Naval Force - Rear Admiral Bartolomé Bauzá
Force Commander EU Naval Force - Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero

EU NAVFOR EU OPERATION ATALANTA

Operation ATALANTA is an EU Military Mission established on 8 December 2008 in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1814, 1816 and 1838, to contribute to the deterrence and repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast.

Rear Admiral Peter Hudson Royal Navy is appointed as the Operation Commander for the EU’s first Naval Operation, within the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy, and leads the Operation Command Headquarters of 76 staff based at Northwood, UK.

At any one time the EU NAVFOR will comprise of up to 6 Frigates and 3 to 5 Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA).

The mission is divided into three key areas:

1. 1. The protection of United Nations World Food Programme Shipping delivering humanitarian food aid to Somalia;



2. 2. The protection of merchant vessels transiting through the Gulf of Aden or in proximity to Somalia;



3. 3. The deterrence and repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast.

The following EU Member States have committed assets to EUNAVFOR - Greece, France, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK.

EU Warships are working closely with World Food Programme. So far, we have delivered food into Somalia that will feed more than 2 million people. The force has been heavily involved in counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden helping to protect many of the 25000 ships that transit the region every year. EU has established the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa in partnership with industry to improve coordination between commercial shipping and international military forces in the region.

With up to 95% of EU member state’ trade (by volume) transported by sea and 20% of Global trade passing through the Gulf of Aden, EUNAVFOR provide considerable focus to safeguard trade through this strategic area.

The Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) is an initiative established by EUNAVFOR with close co-operation from industry. The MSC(HOA) centre provides 24 hour manned monitoring of vessels transiting through the Gulf of Aden whilst the provision of an interactive website enables the Centre to communicate the latest anti-piracy guidance to industry and for Shipping Companies and operators to register their movements through the region.

Finally in between routine or baseline operations, EUNAVFOR conducts focused operations aimed at achieving specific effects within a given area or time window. By concentrating forces to achieve specific effects EUNAVFOR can provide influence, deterrence or insight into legitimate and illicit activities in order to better co-ordinate future activities to deter piracy and armed robbery and thus reassure legitimate merchant mariners.

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THE FORCE - BIOGRAPHIES

COMEUNAVFOR

Rear Admiral Peter Hudson was educated at Netherthorpe Grammar School and joined the Royal Navy in 1980 at BRNC Dartmouth. In 1982 he commenced a series of watchkeeping and navigation appointments before completing warfare training in 1988 during which he specialised as a navigator. Thereafter he served as Squadron Navigator to the Captain of the Sixth Frigate Squadron, upon the warfare staff of Flag Officer Sea Training and, in 1992 as the Navigator of the aircraft carrier HMS INVINCIBLE.

In 1994 he took command of HMS COTTESMORE conducting MCM and Fishery Protection duties around the UK. Following his promotion to Commander in December 1996, he became the Commanding Officer of the Type 23 Frigate, HMS NORFOLK, which included a 7-month deployment to the Falkland Islands. On relinquishing command in 1998 he served in the Naval HQ as the Fleet Operations Officer.

In December 2000, after a short tour in the Ministry of Defence, he was promoted Captain and assigned to lead a small team that rationalised the 5 regional Fleet HQs into a single, integrated HQ located in Portsmouth; a project known as FLEET FIRST. In July 2002 he joined the 19,000 ton Amphibious Assault Ship HMS ALBION whilst she was under construction in Barrow. The ship was commissioned into the RN in early 2003 and as her first Commanding Officer he led her through a testing first of class trials programme and into full operational service in April 2004. He was appointed CBE in 2005.

Promoted to Commodore in October 2004, he had a short period leading the Fleet Personnel division before moving to Ministry of Defence as the Director of Naval Resources and Plans in September 2005. Thereafter, in early 2008, he returned to operational command duties as the Commander of the Amphibious Task Group (COMATG) during which he commanded a maritime Coalition Task Force in the Gulf for 5 months and then led the RN Taurus deployment to the Far East from his Flagship HMS BULWARK.

On promotion to Rear Admiral in June 2009, he was appointed as Commander UK Maritime Force (COMUKMARFOR), the UK’s contingent 2 Star maritime component commander and as Operational Commander of the EU Naval Force for Counter Piracy and Humanitarian operations off Somalia.

DCOMEUNAVFOR

Rear Admiral Bartolomé Bauzá was born in Palma de Mallorca in 1956 and educated in Montesión and joined the Spanish Navy in 1975. A surface officer, his early career included a number of appointments in surface ships, including serving two-year-tours as EW and Ops officer in the corvette “Infanta Elena”, destroyer “Gravina” and the frigates “Andalucía” and “Cataluña”. His command tours were on the gun patrol boat “Mouro”, the corvette “Cazadora”, the antisubmarine frigate “Baleares” (participating in NATO article 5 operation Active Endeavour) and the amphibious assault ship “Galicia”.

After completion of the Naval Warfare Course in Madrid in 1994, his staff tours have included assignments in Joint HQ, Fleet HQ, and Navy HQ (his last tour as DACOS Plans & Policy and Head of the Strategic Planning Branch). He has also two academic tours in the Strategy Departments at both the Naval Warfare College and the Joint Staff College.

He is married to Cuchi and they have four children: Cita, a graduated of the Universidad Complutense, working in a private college and married to a Navy officer; Clara, graduated of the Chamber of Commerce in Madrid and working as marketing manager in a multinational company; Lluch, studying Law and Management in the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; and Bartolomé, in the Secondary school.

EUNAVFOR

Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero is a native of Rome, Italy. He joined the Italian Naval Academy in 1975 and was commissioned in 1979.

He served in various Submarines (ITS TOTI, ITS BAGNOLINI, ITS MARCONI, ITS ROMEI, ITS SAURO) and Surface Ships (ITS DANAIDE, ITS VITTORIO VENETO). He Commanded ITS ROMEI from 1986 to 1987, ITS SAURO from 1989 to 1991, ITS DANAIDE from 1993 to 1994 and ITS VITTORIO VENETO from 2001 to 2002. From 1995 to 1996, he attended the Italian Naval War Institute and the Joint Services Staff College. He held an university degree in maritime and naval sciences.

Ashore, R.Adm. GUMIERO served as an Operations Staff Officer, Plans Section, in the HQ of the Commander Chief of the Italian Fleet (CINCNAV), in S. Rosa (Rome); from 1994 to 1995, as Officer in Charge of the Operation Office of the Italian Submarine Command and Operational Authority (MARICOSOM). From September 1996 to August 1999, he was assigned to the Supreme Allied Command, Atlantic (SACLANT), as Staff Officer Long Term Armaments Programs, Undersea Warfare Armaments Programs. From September 1999, he was assigned to the NATO/WEU Policy Branch in the Italian Navy General Staff and, then, as Branch Head, to the NATO/EU Force Planning Branch, in the Italian Defence General Staff.

From November 2002 to April 2004, he was assigned as the Chief of the Naval Policy Branch and Deputy Chief of the 3rd Division – Plans and Policy of the Italian Navy General Staff. From April 2004 to September 2007, he was assigned as the Chief of the International Relations Branch to the Italian Defense General Staff. From September 2007 to June 2008, he was assigned as Commander of the Italian Mine Countermeasure Forces (COMFORDRAG) in LA SPEZIA, and then, from July 2008, as Commander of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) for a full year up to June 2009. He reported to the present duties in August 2009. He was promoted Rear Admiral on the 1st of January, 2008.

R.Adm. GUMIERO was involved in Operation SHARP GUARD as CO of ITS DANAIDE. As COMSNMG2 he launched and conducted the first ever NATO counter piracy operation, Operation Allied Provider (OAP), in the Gulf of Aden (GOA) and along the Somali coastline, mission which included also the escort and protection of the WFP chartered vessels carrying Humanitarian aids to Somalia. His personal decorations include Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, Distinguished Navy Service (25 years) Award, Distinguished Service at Sea (15 years) Award, Mauritiana Medal, Distinguished Command Award, Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory Pope, the Italian, NATO, WEU Mission Service Awards and the Italian Defence General Staff Honour Award.

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