On completion of this course he was promoted to commodore and had appointments in Naval Policy and Warfare, and Military Strategy and Concepts.

[citation needed] In 1997 he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed as Maritime Commander Australia.

[citation needed] He then served as Deputy Chief of Navy and Head of Capability Systems.

[2] As a consequence of his service in these appointments, and in addition to receiving the Centenary medal,[3] he was promoted to Officer of the Order of Australia in January 2001.

[2] In 2018, Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie was reported as a spokesman for Shipbuilder Lurssen Australia who would be building new offshore patrol vessels.