Vice Admiral Robert George Cooling CB (born 11 July 1957) is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff.

He studied international relations at Keele University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1978.

[2] He became Commanding Officer of the frigate HMS Montrose as well as Captain of the 6th Frigate Squadron in 1998 and Director of Naval Staff Duties at the Ministry of Defence in 2002.

[3] He went on to be Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in 2004,[4] Deputy Commander of Strike Force (South) in 2006 and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in February 2008.

[3] Promoted to vice admiral, he became the chief of staff to NATO's Supreme Allied Command Transformation at Norfolk, Virginia in July 2009 before retiring in November 2011.