General Sir James Richard Hockenhull, KBE ADC (born 27 July 1964), is a senior British Army officer who serves as Commander of UK Strategic Command, as well as Aide-de-Camp General to the King (formerly to the Queen) since 2022.
Sir James Hockenhull | |
|---|---|
.jpg) General Hockenhull in 2024 | |
| Born | 27 July 1964 Havant, Hampshire |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1986–present |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Intelligence Corps |
| Commands | UK Strategic Command Chief of Defence Intelligence |
| Battles / wars | Operation Banner Iraq War Afghanistan War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) Bronze Star Medal (United States) |
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Background and education
editHockenhull was born in 1964 at Havant, Hampshire, to William Hockenhull and Jean née Philpott.[1]
Educated at the Royal Hospital School, Ipswich, before going up to read Politics at the University of York (BA), he later pursued postgraduate Military Studies at Cranfield University (MA).[2]
Military career
editHockenhull was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1986.[2] He deployed to Northern Ireland multiple times during his early career, for which he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 22 November 1994,[3] awarded a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services" in 1999,[4] and promoted Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 30 September 2003.[5]
Hockenhull became an Instructor at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2003 before being deployed as Chief, Campaign Plans at Headquarters Multi-National Force – Iraq in December 2005,[2] for which he was awarded the United States Bronze Star Medal in 2006.[1] He went on to be Deputy Director, Force Development in August 2006, Chief, Plans at Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Afghanistan in 2008 and Director ISTAR at Headquarters Land Forces in 2008.[2] After that he became Head Military Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Defence in September 2011, Director of the Ministry of Defence Advisory Group in Kabul in June 2012,[6] and Director Cyber, Intelligence and Information Integration in March 2015.[2] He was awarded the United States Officer of the Legion of Merit in 2017.[1] The following year, Hockenhull was appointed Chief of Defence Intelligence and promoted to lieutenant general.[7][8] He was advanced as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours.[9]
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In April 2022, it was announced that Hockenhull would be promoted as general to succeed General Sir Patrick Sanders as Commander of United Kingdom Strategic Command,[10] taking office in May 2022.[11]
Hockenhull stated, on 13 August 2022, in an interview with the BBC: "Russia nor Ukraine is likely to achieve any decisive military action in Ukraine this year". He has defended the decision to publish the intelligence about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying "It's important to get the truth out before the lies come." UK intelligence is watching the prospect of tactical nuclear weapons being used in Ukraine "very closely"; he however considers their usage "very unlikely". He is quoted saying of China: "incredible military modernisation with a country determined to resolve a political issue".[12]
Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps since 2014,[13] Hockenhull has also been elected a Visiting Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.[14]
Family
editIn 1990 he married Karen Elizabeth Harrison; Hockenhull and his wife have two daughters.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Hockenhull, Lt Gen. James Richard". Who's Who 2020. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U258714. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Major-General James Hockenhull" (PDF). CEMA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "No. 53855". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 November 1994. p. 16321.
- ^ "No. 55819". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 April 2000. p. 4252.
- ^ "No. 57070". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 September 2003. p. 12063.
- ^ "ISAF officers meet for key leader engagement at Camp Ghazi". DVIDS. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ Lieutenant-General James Hockenhull, Defence Geospatial Intelligence, 2018
- ^ "No. 62486". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 December 2018. p. 21992.
- ^ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N6.
- ^ "Lieutenant General Sir James Hockenhull appointed new Commander United Kingdom Strategic Command". Ministry of Defence. UK Strategic Command. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "Chief of Defence Intelligence and Commander of Strategic Command". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ Jonathan Beale (13 August 2022). "Ukraine war: Predicting Russia's next step in Ukraine". BBC.com. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Intelligence Corps Affiliations". Intelligence Corps Association. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Fellows and Senior Members of the College". Pembroke College, Cambridge. Retrieved 11 December 2024.