Mark Carleton-Smith

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]

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]}

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]