| Melanie Robinson | |
| Birth Name: | Melanie Suzanne Rees |
| Allegiance: | United Kingdom |
| Branch: | Royal Navy |
| Serviceyears: | 1993–2023 |
| Rank: | Commodore |
| Commands: | Maritime Reserve Wales University Royal Naval Unit |
| Awards: | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
| Alma Mater: | Cardiff University Open University |
Commodore Melanie Suzanne "Mel" Robinson, is a retired British senior Royal Naval Reserve officer. She was Commander of Maritime Reserves from February 2020 until retirement in July 2023.[1]
Robinson has a degree from Cardiff University. She also has a Master of Science (MSc) degree in human resource management from the Open University.[2]
She was commissioned in Supplementary List of the Royal Navy as a sub-lieutenant on 6 January 1993. She was appointed to the Trained Strength on 15 October 1994. Her early career was as a warfare officer, serving in a number of frigates and minor war vessels.
As commander of the Cardiff University Royal Naval Unit (now Wales URNU) and its training ship, she was one of the first women to command a Royal Navy patrol vessel.[3] [4] [5] She transferred to the Royal Naval Reserve with the rank of commander in November 2015. She was promoted to commodore on 4 February 2020, and was then one of four women to hold that rank.
Robinson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 Birthday Honours.
In 1998, she married to Guy Robinson.[6] [7] Vice Admiral Robinson is a fellow Royal Navy officer who has been serving with NATO as Chief of Staff to Supreme Allied Commander Transformation since 2021.[8] They have two children.