During 2012-2014, he was also Head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Global Maritime Crime Program. Prior to taking up his appointment at ANU in 2011, Rob was a Warfare and Legal officer in the Royal Australian Navy, having served as the Chief of Maritime Operations for the Peacekeeping Force in East Timor (UNTAET), the Australian Fleet Legal Officer, the Strategic Legal Adviser in Defence HQ, Director of Operations and International Law for the Department of Defence, and Director of the Naval Legal Service. His operational deployments have included East Timor, Iraq, and Border Protection.