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Patrick Sanders (British Army officer)

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Sir Patrick Sanders
General Sanders in 2022
Born (1966-04-06) 6 April 1966 (age 58)
Tidworth, Wiltshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1984–2024
RankGeneral
Service number520489
UnitThe Rifles
CommandsChief of the General Staff
Strategic Command
Field Army
3rd (United Kingdom) Division
Task Force Helmand
20th Armoured Brigade
4th Battalion, The Rifles
2nd Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets
Battles / warsThe Troubles
Kosovo War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst

General Sir Patrick Nicholas Yardley Monrad Sanders, KCB, CBE, DSO (born 6 April 1966) is a senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff from 13 June 2022 until 15 June 2024.[1]

Early life and education

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Born on 6 April 1966 at Tidworth, Wiltshire, he is the son of Lieutenant Colonel John Sanders.[2] He was educated at Worth School, then an all-boys private boarding school attached to the eponymous Benedictine Abbey.[2] After leaving school, he studied at the University of Exeter,[3] having been awarded a British Army undergraduate cadetship.[4] He left before taking his degree.[5] He later pursued further studies at Cranfield University,[6] graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in defence technology.[5]

Military career

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Early military career

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KCB breast star

Sanders was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets, British Army, on 23 September 1984, as a second lieutenant (on probation) as part of his undergraduate cadetship.[4] He left university without completing his degree, and his commission was terminated on 27 July 1985.[7] He then attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and was once more commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Green Jackets on 12 April 1986.[8]

He served as a subaltern in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and then undertook tours in Kosovo in 1999 and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001.[3] He became Chief of Staff of 1st Mechanised Brigade in 2002 and then Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion the Royal Green Jackets in 2005.[3] In the latter role he managed the transition of his battalion to become 4th Battalion The Rifles, then seeing action at the siege of UK bases in Basra in 2007 during the Iraq War.[9] On 25 July 2008, he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Iraq during the period 1st October 2007 to 31st March 2008".[10]

Sanders became Commander of 20th Armoured Brigade in August 2009,[11] deployed under Task Force Helmand to Afghanistan in October 2011.[9] On 28 September 2012, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1 October 2011 to 31 March 2012".[12] He served as Chief of the Defence Staff's Liaison Officer to the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2012 and Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) in March 2013.[13] In 2014, he attended the Prime Minister's COBRA meetings on the floods crisis.[9]

General officer

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Sanders took command of the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division in April 2015.[14] Then in December 2016, he was appointed Commander Field Army and promoted lieutenant general.[15] Sanders was promoted general on 6 May 2019 and appointed as Commander Joint Forces Command;[16] Joint Forces Command was renamed as Strategic Command on 9 December 2019.[17]

Sanders was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2020 New Year Honours.[18] He was the preferred candidate of the Ministry of Defence to succeed General Sir Nick Carter as Chief of the Defence Staff in 2021, due to his expertise in cyber capability, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson picked Admiral Sir Tony Radakin instead.[19][20] Announced in February 2022, Sanders became Chief of the General Staff in June 2022.[21]

Chief of the General Staff

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On 7 June 2022, Sanders took the decision to cancel an overseas deployment by the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment after a number of incidents which demonstrated a poor standard of discipline in the unit.[22] Armed Forces Minister James Heappey was said to be "sorry and embarrassed" by the "disgraceful" behaviour.[23]

On 16 June 2022, Sanders told British soldiers they are the generation that must prepare "to fight in Europe once again" as Russia was invading Ukraine, stating "There is now a burning imperative to forge an Army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle."[24]

The Guardian reported in June 2023 that following concerns in the Ministry of Defence that Sanders might resign over spending cuts in the Army, interviews had already taken place to find Sanders' successor.[25]

Speaking at the Defence iQ International Armoured Vehicles conference in January 2024, Sanders described the British people as part of a "prewar generation" who may have to prepare themselves to fight in a war against Russia. Sanders said the UK needed to take "preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing", such as a form of national service. Such action was "not merely desirable, but essential", he added.[26] The Guardian later reported that Sanders received a dressing down after this speech, which was not agreed by either 10 Downing Street or the Ministry of Defence.[27] He was succeeded as Chief of the General Staff by General Sir Roland Walker on 15 June 2024.[1]

On 11 March 2024, he was made a Commander of the Legion of Merit by General Randy George for "excellence in military service".[28]

Honorary appointments

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Sanders was Colonel Commandant of The Rifles (2019–2023),[29] and Colonel Commandant of the Honourable Artillery Company from 31 January 2019 to 30 May 2024.[30][31]

A Freeman of the City of London, he is also a Liveryman of the Blacksmiths' Company.[32]

In May 2023, Sanders carried the Queen's Sceptre in the Royal Procession at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Chief of the General Staff". British Army.
  2. ^ a b "Sanders, Lt Gen. Patrick Nicholas Yardley Monrad". Who's Who 2018. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2017. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U271381. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.
  3. ^ a b c "Major-General Patrick Sanders" (PDF). Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b "No. 49939". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1984. p. 16021.
  5. ^ a b "Sanders, Gen. Sir Patrick (Nicholas Yardley Monrad), (born 6 April 1966), Chief of the General Staff, since 2022; Aide-de-Camp General to the King (formerly to the Queen), since 2019". Who's Who 2024. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ 'SANDERS, Maj. Gen. Patrick Nicholas Yardley Monrad', Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2016
  7. ^ "No. 50264". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 September 1985. p. 13137.
  8. ^ "No. 50527". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1986. pp. 7101–7102.
  9. ^ a b c "UK floods: Iraq war veteran Maj Gen Patrick Sanders leads military flood response". The Telegraph. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
  10. ^ "No. 58776". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 July 2008. p. 11244.
  11. ^ "Senior Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  12. ^ "No. 60283". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 September 2012. p. 18623.
  13. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Court & Social". The Times. 30 July 2014.
  15. ^ "No. 61793". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 December 2016. p. 26901.
  16. ^ "No. 62635". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 May 2019. p. 8120.
  17. ^ "Joint Forces Command to Strategic Command, the journey". gov.uk. Strategic Command. 9 December 2019. JFC is also being renamed Strategic Command to better reflect the contribution it makes to defence.
  18. ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N2.
  19. ^ Parker, George (2 October 2021). "UK military chiefs battle to become next head of armed forces". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  20. ^ Sheridan, Danielle (8 October 2021). "PM went against MOD to appoint Radakin". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Defence secretary names new chief of general staff". Civil Service World. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Paratroops banned from deployment over orgy filmed at Merville Barracks". The Times. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Army minister 'embarrassed' over alleged paratrooper sex video at Colchester's Merville Barracks". ITV. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  24. ^ "New UK Army chief issues Russia rallying cry". BBC. 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Head of British army could quit in row over further cuts". The Guardian. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  26. ^ Sabbagh, Dan; Walker, Peter (24 January 2024). "Army chief says people of UK are 'prewar generation' who must be ready to fight Russia" – via The Guardian.
  27. ^ Sabbagh, Dan (27 February 2024). "Ukraine will be on back foot in war for months, says UK armed forces chief". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  28. ^ "Australia and United Kingdom, AFHAC & AFHWC, Mar. 11, 2024 [Image 10 of 36]". DVIDS. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  29. ^ "No. 64276". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 2024. p. 26495.
  30. ^ "Buckingham Palace". The Times. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  31. ^ "No. 64418". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2024. p. 11222.
  32. ^ "Modern Freedom". City of London. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  33. ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding,
3rd (United Kingdom) Division
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander Field Army
2016–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander Joint Forces Command
(Commander Strategic Command from December 2019)
2019–2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel Commandant and President,
Honourable Artillery Company
2019–2024 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff
2022–2024
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