Member Spotlight

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Rob Canterbury spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy, with almost 15 years at Naval Special Warfare and security units. After joining the Navy 6 months after graduating high school, Rob’s first command was a Frigate stationed in Pascagoula, MS. A Navy mechanic by trade, Rob volunteered for security-related positions every chance he could. Rob volunteered and was selected as the ship's small boat engineer and coxswain, and served as the coxswain that transported US Coast Guard LE Det personnel on VBSS runs to suspected drug boats while on Counter Drug operations in the Caribbean Sea AOR. Rob also volunteered and qualified as the ship's assistant Master-At-Arms (Navy police officer) where he conducted urinalysis testing and served as the “bailiff” at several Commanding Officers Captain’s Masts. 

In May of 2001, Rob transferred to the Small Boat Division at Naval Support Activity Annapolis, MD, which supports the US Naval Academy. Later that month, Rob had the great pleasure of working beside the USSS by securing the perimeter of the LZ for Marine One when President Bush (43) visited the USNA to give the commencement speech for the graduating class of Midshipmen. In August 2001, Rob once again volunteered and was selected to work for the base security department as a patrolman. After the 9/11 attacks, Rob was assigned to the USMC security company who had the responsibility in securing the Naval Academy Complex. In this role, Rob served as armed sentry at ECP’s, patrolman, and personal security details for high ranking politicians and military personnel while on visits to the Naval Academy. 

Rob packed up his family and moved back to Mississippi in June of 2003, this time, assigned to his first Naval Special Warfare command, a Special Boat Team. There, he would again serve as the assistant Master-At-Arms, small boat engineer and instructor. From 2004-2006, Rob would travel to various South American and Asians countries to train their special forces units in small boat operations, small unit operations, small arms weapons, tactical first aid, land navigation and defensive driving. During one of these training missions to Colombia, Rob conducted a security assessment of the base and oversaw updates to guard towers, perimeter lighting and fences, and security along the river shore line to better combat against the FARC forces who controlled the surrounding jungles. During this time at this unit, Rob made 2 combat deployments to Iraq where he planned and commanded over 80 tactical convoy operations, covering over 600 miles of enemy territory. Due to his combat experience, Rob was hand selected by his leadership to personally escort millions of dollars of Naval Special Warfare weapons, boats and other equipment to and from Iraq, South Korea and Colombia. Rob would also gain first-hand knowledge and tactical training from famed special forces groups such as SEAL Team 6/DEVGRU and the British SBS. 

Rob’s naval career took him to San Diego, CA in the summer of 2008 where he would become a Navy S.E.R.E. school instructor. Rob would assist in the training of over 5,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel in all aspects of outdoor and hostage survival training and also on how to conducts themselves to be able to survive in a Prisoner of War type scenario based training. Rob would receive his Master Training Specialist, Instructor and High-Risk Training Instructor certifications, as well as becoming a SME in land navigation, evasion, food/water procurement, field first aid, tactical communications, personal recovery and fire starting. As an SME, he would travel to other military bases in the region to give an abbreviated course lecture to units before leaving for combat deployments. During his time at this unit, Rob would attend the Navy’s Advanced Evasion Course in Maine and the Air Force’s Urban Evasion course in Washington State and was instrumental in creating the course curriculum that is used in Urban Evasion courses taught by the Navy. 

In 2011, Rob was assigned to one of the Navy SEAL Teams in Coronado, CA. There he would serve as assistant Master-At-Arms, the command Anti-Terrorism Officer and lead Petty Officer for his department which included small boat training, operations and maintenance, supply and logistics, and transportation. On a deployment to the UAE, Rob conducted security assessments on 2 US military bases there and personally made updates by himself to one of those bases, as well as coordinate shipment of supplies and materials to deployed personnel in Yemen and Iraq. On a 2015 deployment to Guam, Rob was the Petty Officer in charge of a 42-man team, in charge of everything from admin, logistics, medical, weapons, comms gear, and small boat operations in support of a SEAL Team deployment in the Pacific Ocean AOR.

Throughout his career, Rob has been certified as a Terrorism Liaison and Infrastructure Liaison Officer by the San Diego LE Coordination Center (FBI Fusion Center), and other certifications from the JPRA, C2 Shooting Solutions, Black Water Training Center, Homeland Security I & II from ABCHS, and International and Domestic Terrorism from the California Specialized Training Institute among others.  Rob has earned his CAS and CMAS from the Anti Terrorism Accreditation Board (ATAB) and has volunteered for service on ATAB training committees. 

Rob retired from the Navy in March 2017 and immediately moved to Washington DC and began working in the private security industry. He has worked as armed security at 2 embassies (Saudi Arabia and UAE) and was the head of security for the UAE embassy. Rob is a certified Personal Protection Specialist in the state of Virginia and has served on PSD’s for top executives of the NRA, US politicians, and several current and former ambassadors to the US, as well as the head of security for a residence that is owned by the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. Currently, Rob is the head of security for President Trump’s 202 re-election campaign headquarters. 

Rob hopes to be selected to this year’s FBI Citizens Academy by the Washington DC field office and will be relocating to the Phoenix, AZ area next spring after his wife leaves active duty in the Navy. Rob wants to work either in combatting drug/sex trade and smuggling across the southern border, physical security, security consulting/training or executive protection when he gets to Phoenix. 

Members can reach Rob by phone at 202-807-8954, email at r.e.canterbury78@gmail.com or by his Linkedin account at www.linkedin.com/in/robert-canterbury.