‘Radical Radakin’ the moderniser is willing to rock the boat
On the day Adml Sir Tony Radakin had his interview with the Prime Minister to become the next head of the Armed Forces, he authorised a British warship from the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier strike group to sail through the Taiwan Strait. It was the first time a warship had been through the contested waters since 2008, and a bold power move that not only challenged Beijing’s claim to the waters but also showed that the future Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) was willing to rock the boat.
Known in the Navy as “Radical Radakin”, he became the first military chief to be selected from the Navy since Adml Sir Michael Boyce in 2001 when Boris Johnson called him on Wednesday evening to confirm his appointment to the role.
Sir Tony, 55, did not come from a naval background. His father owned a computer media business. After finishing school, he went on a year’s travel around the world with a friend. They hitchhiked from Germany, where they picked grapes in Rheinhessen, to Yugoslavia, picked oranges in Greece and eventually travelled around India.
“It was a long trip that stirred his interest in the world,” a source close to him said. “Then he decided he wanted more of that in a professional sense.”
He was commissioned in 1990, having been sponsored as a cadet to go to Southampton University where he studied law. Academic, he is. He came top of his Higher Command and Staff course and was the first person to be awarded the “mythical A grade” for 20 years, a naval source said.
In 1996 he qualified as a barrister and went to the Bar while he was commanding a small ship and completing his warfare qualifications. Other qualifications include a master’s degree in international relations and defence studies and the senior executive programme at the London Business School. He has also graduated from several American courses, including the Capstone course for senior military officers.
It was at university in Southampton that he met his wife, Louise, who is a practising lawyer. The couple, who live in Winchester, have four sons, aged between 16 and 22. Like their father, who was born in Oldham but raised in Bristol, they all attended the local comprehensive school.
‘Radakin has shown he is an innovator and has changed things. He is a forward thinker’
Sir Tony’s operational service involved the Tanker War between Iran and Iraq, security duties in the Falklands, Nato embargo operations in the Adriatic, countering smuggling in Hong Kong and the Caribbean, and three command tours in Iraq, which were both ashore and at sea.
He has commanded, in roles from Lieutenant to Rear Admiral, ashore, afloat and international forces.
His staff appointments have predominantly been in Joint or Defence roles, including operational planning at Permanent Joint Headquarters, two tours as a Military Assistant, and two tours involving financial, capability and strategic force development. More recently, he was Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces Command from 2016 to 2018 and Second Sea Lord from 2018 to 2019.
By June 2019, Sir Tony had been appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff.
In his spare time he plays squash and enjoys sailing his motor boat on the Solent, as well as mountain biking and skiing. He is president of the Royal Navy Squash Association and the UK Armed Forces Tennis Association.
Sir Tony is renowned for being an innovator and many have said that his temperament is “fantastic”.
The news that the head of the Armed Forces would come from the Navy was widely welcomed by the naval community who felt too many Army chiefs had held the position in recent years. The post historically rotated between the three services on the basis of “Buggins’ turn”.
This changed under Margaret Thatcher, who made John Fieldhouse, the naval commander in chief for the Falklands, the CDS after his stint as First Sea Lord, breaking Buggins’ turn.
Adml Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, said that this made the selection of CDS “clearly up to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence and much more political”.
He added that when looking for a new CDS the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary looked at how this person has behaved as head of their service. “Have they been well behaved and not rocked the boat, as that can be dangerous,” he said.
“But Radakin has shown he is an innovator and has changed things. He is well aware of maritime issues, has cut the number of admirals, grasped modern technology and shown the Navy doing work with unmanned ships and drones. He is a forward thinker and a good man to do it.”