Admiral Hernández was born in Almería. He graduated as Lieutenant Junior Grade in 1984.
His first post was a two-year commission on board corvette ‘Diana’ stationed in Cartagena.
From 1986 to 1988 he trained as aircraft pilot in the USA. Until 1995 he was posted in the 9th Aircraft Squadron as AV-8B ‘Harrier’ pilot.
He subsequently served several times at the Spanish Navy Staff and the Fleet Staff. Admiral Hernández also served in the General Directorate of the Defense Policy, the Defense Office of the Spanish Embassy to the EU (Brussels) and in 2010 he was Chief of Staff of the Standing NATO Maritime Group No. 2 (SNMG-2), including a six-month deployment in Operation ‘Ocean Shield’ off the Horn of Africa.
He has been Commanding Officer of patrol boat ‘Barceló’, OPV ‘Vigía’, fleet oiler ‘Marqués de la Ensenada’ and the Aircraft Squadron of the Spanish Navy. As Captain, he was the Fleet’s Chief of Operations, and later Chief of the Air Arm of the Spanish Navy General Staff.
He has a Staff diploma, is fluent in English and French, and he is a specialist in Electronics.
In October 2015 he was promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed Chief of the Fleet Staff. In 2017 he was appointed Chief of the Amphibious and Force Projection Group with the LHD ‘Juan Carlos I’ as flagship.
From March to July 2019 he commanded EUNAVFOR’s counter-piracy Operation ‘Atalanta’ in the Horn of Africa on board frigate ‘Navarra’.
In September 2019 he was promoted to Vice Admiral and appointed Chief of the Cádiz Arsenal in Rota Naval Base.
In September 2022 he was promoted to Admiral and appointed Chief of Logistic Support of the Spanish Navy.
Admiral Hernández is married and has three children.