Nick Unwin joined the Royal Navy in 2000, specialising as a Surface Warfare Officer. His early watchkeeping career was shaped by deployments to the Caribbean in support of UK Overseas Territories and to the Mediterranean as part of the UK’s standing NATO commitments (Standing NATO Maritime Group 2). He completed the Principal Warfare Officer Course in 2009 before warfare roles at sea in HMS KENT working closely with coalition partners East of Suez (Ops TELIC and KIPION) followed by commissioning the new Type 45 destroyer HMS DAUNTLESS through sea trials and her initial deployment.

He has commanded two Sandown Class mine hunters, HMS PENZANCE, deploying with NATO to the Mediterranean and then East of Suez in 2014, and HMS BLYTH conducting operations around the UK. Two years later he was back in the Middle East as Commander UK Mine Countermeasures Force, working closely with US, coalition and regional partners. Returning to the UK and Faslane in 2017, he commanded MCM1 Squadron for 13 highly rewarding months. He appeared in Bahrain once more in 2020 as Staff Operations Officer to the UK’s Maritime Component Commander working closely with US NAVCENT and coalition staffs.

Shore assignments have included Flag Lieutenant to Commander United Kingdom Maritime Force, the UK’s two-star Maritime Commander at readiness as well as the Royal Navy’s Maritime Operations Centre. Away from operations, the majority of the last 6 years have been in the policy, capability and acquisition areas, firstly in the RN’s Resource and Plans division as the Above Water desk officer covering new build strike carriers and platform in-service capability management before taking on the resource plans desk for the Command. After a period in the MOD’s Finance and Military Capability plans division, he returned to Navy Command as the Commando Force Programme Director on promotion to Captain in 2022.

He holds a BA in History and Politics and a MA in Defence Studies. He is a graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Defence Academy and the IPA Project Leadership Programme.