Chris Parry was educated at the Portsmouth Grammar School and read Modern History at Jesus College, Oxford. He joined the Royal Navy as a Seaman Officer and subsequently sub-specialised as a Sea King, Wessex and Lynx Observer, operating from carriers and surface combatants. He was mentioned in despatches during the Falklands war and received the 1983 Prince Philip Helicopter Rescue Award from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.

After the Royal Naval Staff Course in 1986, he was Staff Aviation Officer to Flag Officer Sea Training and then Executive Officer of the destroyer leader HMS YORK. He was promoted Commander in 1989 and, after appointments in Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence and on the staff of Commander-in-Chief Fleet, commanded the air defence destroyer HMS GLOUCESTER from 1994 to 1996.

On promotion to Captain, he commanded the Maritime Warfare Centre from 1996 to 1998 and was responsible for the teaching and evolution of Joint and maritime doctrine, tactical development and operational analysis. After the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, he returned to sea in January 2000 in command of HMS FEARLESS and as Flag Captain to the Amphibious Task Group. From April 2001, as a Commodore and as Director Operational Capability in the Ministry of Defence, he was directly responsible to Ministers and the Chiefs of Staff for the provision of independent assessments of operational capability and lessons from operations. In September 2003, he took command of the UK’s Amphibious Task Group and NATO’s UK/Netherlands Amphibious Task Group. On promotion to Flag rank in January 2005, he formed the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre and spent three years as its Director General.