HMS Daring officer is given Queen’s Commendation for his work in the Gulf
A SAILOR who served on-board Guernsey-affiliated HMS Daring has been honoured with a Queen’s Commendation for going above and beyond the call of duty.
Lieutenant Commander Ben Martin was the senior warfare officer on the Type 45 destroyer during its deployment in the Gulf.
Daring ensured safe passage for 650,000 tonnes of UK-affiliated shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait in the Gulf – a point for world trade between Yemen and Eritrea.
The operation lasted for 50 days during her 2016 and 2017 Gulf deployment, where the ship was under constant threat of attack by Houthi rebel-controlled coastal-defence cruise missiles.
Lt Commander Martin received the commendation for valuable service during the deployment through overseeing the preparations and conduct for each transit.
‘Lt Commander Martin, as the ship’s senior warfare officer, was critical to the ship’s operational success,’ the Royal Navy said.
‘Martin presided over all preparations to ensure his department was mentally and materially ready for the challenges to follow.
‘Leading from the front, he gathered his team together to candidly explain the situation, the role of Daring, and the responsibility that would fall upon his people (both individually and collectively) in order to safeguard escorted shipping and defend their ship.’
It said his ‘calm and assured leadership’, combined with ‘faultless execution of air warfare’, was instrumental in Daring’s successful execution of her mission.
‘His performance on operations was an exemplar of naval service core values, for which Lt Commander Ben Martin is awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service.’
HMS Daring was tasked to conduct escort duties in order to reassure and protect the merchant shipping community. This came after Houthi rebels badly damaged the United Arab Emirates flagged vessel MV Swift as it sailed through the strait in October 2016.
