Commodore Melissa Ross joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in February
1993 as a Marine Engineering Officer. She has served in HMNZ Ships
Manawanui, Southland, Waikato, Wellington, Te Kaha and the Logistics Ship,
Canterbury. She has deployed to the Arabian Gulf, Timor Leste and
Israel/Lebanon.
Commodore Ross held the position as the Private Secretary to the Minister of
Defence from 2005-2007 and then posted to the position as the Project
Director’s Representative for the Multi-Role Vessel (now HMNZS Canterbury).
She was the Engineer Officer onboard HMNZS Canterbury in July 2008 and
attended amphibious exercises within New Zealand and abroad.
Commodore Ross was posted to the Defence Transformation Project in the
role as Navy Engineering subject matter expert within the Logistics Change
Project. She posted into the role of SO1 Logistics Strategy Execution in 2011
and following that position, moved to Australia to take up the role as an
Instructor at the Australian Command and Staff College from 2013-2016.
Commodore Ross was promoted and posted to the Headquarters Joint Force
New Zealand as the Chief Staff Officer – Support (J4). She also took up the
role as Chief Staff Officer – Operations (J3) for a few months in 2017.
Captain Ross completed her Masters in Strategic Studies in 2009 and also
holds a conjoint Bachelor of Business and Arts degree majoring in
International Business and Chinese. She completed a Masters in Strategy and
Resource Management at Eisenhower School in Washington DC in 2019. On
completion of her study, she was posted to Naval Staff Headquarters as the
Assistant Chief of Navy – Strategy and Engagement.
In December 2019, Commodore Ross was promoted and took up her current
role as the Deputy Chief of Navy.
Commodore Ross lives with her husband and two sons in Wellington and
enjoys watching her sons play soccer, basketball and touch rugby.
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