The Royal Navy warship HMS Northumberland has welcomed on board her new commanding office, Commander Patricia Kohn.
Cdr Kohn assumed command this week while the ship was on a goodwill visit to Guernsey. She said: “I am delighted to be taking command of HMS Northumberland.’’
She was educated at Lenzie Academy and the University of Glasgow and joined the Royal Navy in 1997. Her first appointment, as navigating officer of the mine hunter HMS Bridport, was highlighted by deployments to both the Baltic and the Mediterranean. After a navigation course, she spent 15 months navigating the destroyer HMS Cardiff which included a deployment to the Northern Arabian Gulf in the lead up to the 2003 Iraq War. She took command of the patrol boat HMS Tracker and Oxford University Royal Naval Unit in 2004.
She served as the operations officer in the Plymouth-based frigate HMS Monmouth from 2007 to 2009, the highlight of which was circumnavigating the globe on deployment. After working at the Navy’s officer training centre Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, she joined Commander UK Maritime Forces organisation (specialising in maritime security) battle staff. This was an exciting period which included the inaugural UK’s Response Force Task Group deployment, numerous amphibious exercises and operations off Libya embarked in the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle as the UK/FR liaison officer.
Cdr Kohn returned to HMS Monmouth as the second-in-command in 2012 and completed seeing the ship and crew through the testing regime of Plymouth-based Flag Officer Sea Training FOST) and deployed on maritime security in the Gulf and Indian Oceans. Just before she joined HMS Northumberland Cdr Kohn was a damage control officer at FOST.
The ship has recently returned from a seven-month deployment and has since become the first Type 23 frigate to adopt a new manning system to enabling improved engineering training onboard and the ship has also taken part in maritime security operations in UK waters.
Cdr Kohn added: “I am incredibly proud of how the ship’s company have committed themselves to the training and integration of the Engineering Training Squadron.’’
