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Mark Carleton-Smith

General Sir Mark Alexander Popham Carleton-Smith, GCB, CBE, DL (born 9 February 1964) is a senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff from June 2018 to June 2022.[1] He previously served as Director Special Forces and commanded 22 Special Air Service Regiment.[2]

Early life and education

Born on 9 February 1964 at Bielefeld, West Germany,[3] to Major General Sir Michael Carleton-Smith,[4] he began his education at Cheltenham College Junior School,[5] before attending Eton College, an all-boys public school.[6] In 1982, he went to Hatfield College, Durham, to pursue an Army-sponsored degree in Politics and Modern History.[4][7] He graduated from Durham University with a lower second class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985.[7]

Military career

Carleton-Smith was commissioned into the Irish Guards on 3 September 1982,[8] before going up to Durham, graduating as BA. He was promoted to lieutenant on 6 September 1985 (with seniority from 9 April),[9] then to captain on 9 April 1989,[10] and then to major on 30 September 1995.[11] After operational service in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, he was deployed to the Gulf War in 1991,[12] and then saw active service as an SAS squadron commander in Bosnia later in the 1990s.[13]

Carleton-Smith 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.[12] In recognition of his military service in Kosovo, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours,[14] and then awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service on 3 November 2000.[15]

Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 2001,[16] Carleton-Smith became Military Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces,[12] becoming Commanding Officer of 22 Special Air Service Regiment in 2002. After serving during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and also during operations in Afghanistan,[13] he was advanced Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 23 April 2004.[17] Promoted colonel on 30 June 2005,[18] he became Deputy Director Policy Planning at the Ministry of Defence at that time.[12]

Promoted to brigadier on 31 December 2006 with seniority from 30 June 2006,[19] Carleton-Smith 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.[20] In August 2008 he led Operation Eagle's Summit, which involved a daring foray into Taliban territory.[21] He was promoted Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services in Afghanistan on 6 March 2009.[22]

Carleton-Smith 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,[23] he became Director Special Forces.[24] In July 2022, the BBC published a report alleging evidence that "SAS operatives in Afghanistan repeatedly killed detainees and unarmed men in suspicious circumstances," while Carleton-Smith, then Director Special Forces, "failed to pass on evidence to [the] murder inquiry"[25] which was being conducted by the Royal Military Police.[26]

Appointed Director of Strategy at the Army Headquarters in March 2015,[27] he became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations) on 18 April 2016 being promoted to lieutenant general with effect from the same date.[28] On 11 June 2018 he was further promoted to the rank of general, succeeding General Sir Nick Carter as Chief of the General Staff,[29][30] being appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2019 New Year Honours.[31] Succeeded as Chief of the General Staff by General Sir Patrick Sanders in June 2022,[1] Carleton-Smith was promoted Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 2023 Birthday Honours.[32]

Carleton-Smith served as Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Irish Guards from 18 March 2012[33] for ten years,[34] and as Honorary Colonel of Oxford University Officers Training Corps between February 2017 and June 2022.[35] [36]

Personal life

In 1991, Carleton-Smith married Catherine Nalder. They have a son and a daughter.[4] He is a member of Pratt's, the Pilgrims Society and the Chelsea Arts Clubs.[4]

Carleton-Smith was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Herefordshire on 27 September 2023.[37]

References

  1. ^ a b "Defence secretary names new chief of general staff". Civil Service World. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  2. ^ www.militarystrategymagazine.com
  3. ^ www.burkespeerage.com
  4. ^ a b c d Carleton-Smith, Lt Gen. Mark Alexander Popham. Who's Who 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U256076. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  5. ^ Archives department at Cheltenham College
  6. ^ Anderson, Bruce (20 November 2006). "Bruce Anderson: You should never underestimate an Old Etonian". The Independent.
  7. ^ a b "Durham University gazette, 1984/85". reed.dur.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  8. ^ "No. 49156". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1982. p. 14267.
  9. ^ "No. 50663". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 September 1986. p. 10233.
  10. ^ "No. 51732". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 May 1989. p. 5806.
  11. ^ "No. 54173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 October 1995. p. 13317.
  12. ^ a b c d "New Chief of the General Staff appointed". British Army. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  13. ^ a b Kiley, Sam (2010). Desperate Glory. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1408801239.
  14. ^ "No. 55711". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1999. p. 42.
  15. ^ "No. 56017". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 November 2000. p. 12363.
  16. ^ "No. 56261". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 2001. p. 7808.
  17. ^ "No. 57269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 2004. p. 5135.
  18. ^ "No. 57693". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 July 2005. p. 8689.
  19. ^ "No. 58206". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 2007. p. 18040.
  20. ^ "Bruce Anderson: We are literally adding insult to injury". The Independent. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "No. 58999". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 March 2009. p. 4081.
  23. ^ "No. 60065". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 February 2012. p. 3406.
  24. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). 26 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
  25. ^ O'Grady, Hannah; Gunter, Joel (12 July 2022). "SAS unit repeatedly killed Afghan detainees, BBC finds". BBC. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  26. ^ "SAS reports reveal troubling pattern of suspicious deaths in Afghanistan". BBC. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  27. ^ "The end of the Gurkhas? Britain's famous brigade faces Ministry of Defence axe". Daily Express. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  28. ^ "No. 61557". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 April 2016. p. 9194.
  29. ^ "Lieutenant General Mark Carleton-Smith appointed new Chief of the General Staff". gov.uk. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  30. ^ "No. 62336". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 June 2018. p. 11298.
  31. ^ "No. 62507". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2018. p. N2.
  32. ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B2.
  33. ^ "No. 60099". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 March 2012. p. 6080.
  34. ^ "No. 63895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 December 2022. p. 23363.
  35. ^ "No. 61853". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 February 2017. p. 3751.
  36. ^ "No. 63760". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 July 2022. p. 13598.
  37. ^ "No. 64193". The London Gazette. 9 October 2023. p. 20130.