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Mark Carleton-Smith

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Mark Carleton-Smith
Mark Carleton-Smith
Born (1964-02-09) 9 February 1964 (age 60)
Bielefeld, West Germany
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1982–present
RankGeneral
Service number515762
UnitIrish Guards
Commands heldChief of the General Staff (2018–present)
Director Special Forces (2012–15)
Task Force Helmand (2008)
16 Air Assault Brigade (2007–08)
22 Special Air Service (2002–05)
Battles/warsGulf War
Kosovo War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service

General Mark Alexander Popham Carleton-Smith, CBE, ADC Gen (born 9 February 1964) is a senior British Army officer who has previously served as Director Special Forces. He became Chief of the General Staff in June 2018, succeeding General Sir Nick Carter.

Early life and education

Carleton-Smith was born on 9 February 1964 in Bielefeld, West Germany, to Major General Sir Michael Carleton-Smith.[1] He was educated at Eton College, an all-boys public school.[2] In 1982, he matriculated into Hatfield College, Durham to undertake an army sponsored degree in Politics and Modern history.[1][3] He graduated from the University of Durham with a lower second class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1985.[3]

Military career

Carleton-Smith was commissioned into the Irish Guards on 3 September 1982.[4] He then spent three years studying at university. He was promoted to lieutenant on 6 September 1985, with seniority from 9 April 1985,[5] to captain on 9 April 1989[6] and to major on 30 September 1995.[7] After operational service in Northern Ireland during the Northern Ireland conflict, he was deployed to the Gulf War in spring 1991[8] and then saw active service as an SAS squadron commander in Bosnia later in the 1990s.[9]

He became Chief of Staff of 19 Mechanized Brigade in 1999 and served as Chief of Staff HQ Multi-National Brigade Centre during the Kosovo War later that year.[8] In recognition of his service in Kosovo, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 New Year Honours[10] and was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service on 3 November 2000.[11]

Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 2001,[12] he became Military Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces at that time.[8] He became Commanding Officer of 22 Special Air Service Regiment in 2002 and in that role saw service during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and also during operations in Afghanistan.[9] He was advanced to Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services during the 2003 invasion of Iraq on 23 April 2004.[13] Promoted to colonel on 30 June 2005,[14] he became Deputy Director Policy Planning at the Ministry of Defence at that time.[8]

Promoted to brigadier on 31 December 2006 with seniority from 30 June 2006,[15] he became Commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade that year and was deployed to Afghanistan as Commander of Task Force Helmand and Commander of British Forces there in April 2008.[16] In August 2008 he led Operation Eagle's Summit which involved a daring foray into Taliban territory.[17] He was advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services in Afghanistan on 6 March 2009.[18]

He became Director of Army Plans and Resources at the Ministry of Defence in January 2009 and, following promotion to major-general on 20 February 2012,[19] he became Director Special Forces in February 2012[20] and Director of Strategy at the Army Headquarters in March 2015.[21] He became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations) with effect from 18 April 2016 and was promoted to lieutenant-general with effect from that same date.[22] On 11 June 2018 he was promoted to general and succeeded General Sir Nick Carter as Chief of the General Staff.[23][24]

He also became Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Irish Guards on 18 March 2012[25] and Honorary Colonel of Oxford University Officers Training Corps on 18 February 2017.[26]

Preparations for a possible war with Russia

In his speech at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference in June 2018, Carleton-Smith said that British troops should be prepared to "fight and win" against the "imminent" threat of hostile Russia.[27][28][29] Carleton-Smith said: "The misplaced perception that there is no imminent or existential threat to the UK - and that even if there was it could only arise at long notice - is wrong, along with a flawed belief that conventional hardware and mass are irrelevant in countering Russian subversion...".[29][30]

In a November 2018 interview with the Daily Telegraph, Carleton-Smith said that "Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national security than Islamic extremist threats such as al-Qaeda and ISIL. ... We cannot be complacent about the threat Russia poses or leave it uncontested."[31] "The physical manifestation of the Islamist threat has diminished with the complete destruction of the geography of the so-called Caliphate."[32]

Personal

Carleton-Smith married Catherine Nalder in 1991. They have a son and a daughter.[1] He is a member of Pratt's, Pilgrims Society and the Chelsea Arts Club.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Carleton-Smith, Lt Gen. Mark Alexander Popham". Who's Who 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ Anderson, Bruce (20 November 2006). "Bruce Anderson: You should never underestimate an Old Etonian". The Independent.
  3. ^ a b "Durham University gazette, 1984/85". reed.dur.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  4. ^ "No. 49156". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1982. p. 14267.
  5. ^ "No. 50663". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 September 1986. p. 10233.
  6. ^ "No. 51732". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 May 1989. p. 5806.
  7. ^ "No. 54173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 October 1995. p. 13317.
  8. ^ a b c d "New Chief of the General Staff appointed". British Army. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  9. ^ a b Kiley, Sam (2010). "Desperate Glory". Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1408801239.
  10. ^ "No. 55711". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1999. p. 42.
  11. ^ "No. 56017". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 November 2000. p. 12363.
  12. ^ "No. 56261". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 2001. p. 7808.
  13. ^ "No. 57269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 2004. p. 5135.
  14. ^ "No. 57693". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 July 2005. p. 8689.
  15. ^ "No. 58206". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 2007. p. 18040.
  16. ^ "Bruce Anderson: We are literally adding insult to injury". The Independent. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  17. ^ Judd, Terri (3 September 2008). "Operation Eagle's Summit: the inside story of a daring foray into Taliban territory". The Independent. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  18. ^ "No. 58999". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 March 2009. p. 4081.
  19. ^ "No. 60065". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 February 2012. p. 3406.
  20. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). 26 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "The end of the Gurkhas? Britain's famous brigade faces Ministry of Defence axe". Daily Express. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  22. ^ "No. 61557". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 April 2016. p. 9194.
  23. ^ "Lieutenant General Mark Carleton-Smith appointed new Chief of the General Staff". gov.uk. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  24. ^ "No. 62336". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 June 2018. p. 11298.
  25. ^ "No. 60099". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 March 2012. p. 6080.
  26. ^ "No. 61853". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 February 2017. p. 3751.
  27. ^ "Britain ready to 'fight and win' IMMINENT war against Russia, new army head warns". The Daily Star. 21 June 2018.
  28. ^ "General Mark Carleton-Smith discusses Russia, AI, and developing capability". UK Defence Journal. 20 June 2018.
  29. ^ a b "CGS Keynote Address 2018". Royal United Services Institute.
  30. ^ "Russia is preparing for war, British military experts warn". Daily Mirror. 20 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Russia poses greater threat to Britain than Isil, says new Army chief". The Daily Telegraph. 23 November 2018.
  32. ^ "Russia poses bigger threat to UK than terror groups: Army chief". ChannelNewsAsia. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
Military offices
Preceded by Director Special Forces
2012–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations)
2016–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff
2018–present 		Incumbent
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