Robert Earl was a United States Marine lieutenant colonel and a deputy to Oliver North at the National Security Agency during the early 1980s.

Earl graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967. He was also a Rhodes Scholar.

Earl is most famous for being involved with the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal supply effort and participated in the destruction of records. He was granted immunity for his testimony.

Oliver North had been a professional acquaintance of Robert Earl since their time together at the Naval Academy. After graduation from the Academy, Earl and North often crossed paths during their careers.^[1]

During the George W. Bush presidency, Earl was appointed as chief of staff to acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England.

• From Iran-Contra To Iraq, by David Corn
• Daily Times on Earl's appointment