Cheadle served as director of nuclear propulsion at the
Ministry of Defence and then as commander of
HM Naval Base Devonport. Promoted to rear admiral, he was appointed chief of staff to the
Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command in 2003. He was appointed
Controller of the Navy as well as an executive director of the
Defence Procurement Agency in December 2003. By the following year he was still Controller of the Navy but also director, land & maritime. He retired from the navy in 2006 and became a director at
WS Atkins. ==Post-naval career==