General Sir David Richards

Chief of the General Staff

Sir Dave Richards is Chief of the General Staff.  He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1971, prior to studying international relations at University College Cardiff. During the next nine years he saw service in the Far East, Germany and the UK, including four tours of Northern Ireland. He attended Staff College, Camberley in 1984 and was later promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1994 he became a colonel, taking responsibility for overseeing the shape and size of the Army. Two years later, he was promoted to brigadier and commanded British operations in East Timor in 1999 and Sierra Leone in 2000. His mission in Sierra Leone - during which he persuaded then Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to allow him to return and run a bigger intervention which saw him awarded a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his leadership and "moral courage".
He also became a CBE for the operation he commanded in East Timor.

Richards was appointed as Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in January 2005, in which role he served as Commander of Nato’s 37,000-strong International Stabilisation and Assistance Force Afghanistan (Isaf) between May 2006 and February 2007. His rise from major general to general came during his time in Afghanistan. He was appointed to the role of British land forces' commander-in-chief in February 2008 and his tour of duty earned him a knighthood.