Throughout his career, Bauer was placed in shipborne missions and was eventually tasked in foreign assignments. Bauer commanded
HNLMS De Ruyter, a
De Zeven Provinciën-class air defense and command frigate from 2005 to 2007. During his term as commander of HNLMS De Ruyter, his deployments also included the operational deployment in the
Mediterranean Sea with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 as part of the NATO Response Force, as part of
Operation Active Endeavour, where he took park on Dutch operations during the
war on terror. HNLMS De Ruyter was also deployed in
Bahrain in 2006 where Bauer served as the Deputy Commander of Task Force 150 in the
Operation Enduring Freedom in the
Arabian Sea. He also took part in anti-piracy operations in the
Horn of Africa during their deployment as part of
Operation Atalanta, primarily focused on protecting sea lanes and bound for
Somalia and neighboring waters. Bauer also commanded
HNLMS Johan de Witt, a
Rotterdam-class landing platform dock (LPD) amphibious warfare ship, from 2010 to 2011. He was promoted to
luitenant-admiraal (admiral) – the highest rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy, equivalent to a NATO OF-9 flag officer (i.e., four stars) – on October 5, 2017. the senior military adviser to the
Secretary General of NATO. He took up the position replacing
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, on 25 June 2021. During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bauer initiated measures aimed at strengthening the alliance's defense measures in Eastern Europe, such as the
Baltic States and former members of the
Warsaw Pact through the expansion of the rapid reaction forces from 40,000 soldiers to as much as 300,000 soldiers, and the creation and deployment of four new battlegroups in
Romania,
Slovakia,
Bulgaria, and the
Czech Republic. Bauer also made efforts to hasten
Finland's application to the alliance, while also assisting
Sweden's accession, despite
Turkey and
Hungary's opposition. The measures were also aimed at strengthening NATO's deterrence policies which aims to prevent a potential spillover in the conflict. Bauer also emphasized that the
Russian Army could "still pose a huge threat and must not be underestimated" due to the overall capabilities. Bauer also spearheaded measures which allowed various members to donate weapons, ammunition, equipment, and supplies to
Ukraine aimed in continuing their strong support to Ukraine throughout the conflict, which also resulted to a declining ammunition supply towards various NATO members and the challenges facing the alliance's overall weapons stockpiles. Bauer also called on fellow members to continue increasing their defense budgets in terms of allocating at least 2% of each country's GDP to defense preparations. In addition to the war in Ukraine, Bauer is also monitoring China's activity in the
Taiwan Strait, as well as Russia's potential affairs in the Arctic and also tackled against rising Chinese influence in the Global Order. On 17 January 2025 Admiral
Giuseppe Cavo Dragone took over the position as Chair of the NATO Military Committee. ==Retirement Life==