Douglas Chalmers

Last updated

Douglas Chalmers
CB DSO OBE
Lieutenant General Douglas Chalmers.jpg
Lieutenant General Chalmers in 2018
Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Assumed office
1 October 2021

Lieutenant General Douglas McKenzie Chalmers, CB , DSO , OBE (born 26 February 1966) is a former British Army officer who served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations) from 2018 to 2021. He is currently Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Contents

Early life and education

Chalmers was born on 26 February 1966 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. [1] He grew up in England. [2] He was educated at Reddam House, a private school in Berkshire, England. [3] Following school, he worked laying tarmac during the day and studying to re-take his A-Levels by night. [2]

Chalmers later completed a Master of Arts (MA) degree from the United States Army's School of Advanced Military Studies and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree from Trinity Hall, Cambridge. [1]

Military career

Chalmers (left) at the change of command ceremony in Afghanistan, 2008 USMC-080908-M-6001G-002.jpg
Chalmers (left) at the change of command ceremony in Afghanistan, 2008

Chalmers joined the British Army in 1984 as a private. [4] Having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Royal Irish Rangers on 9 August 1986. [5]

He became commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in July 2007 and, in that role, was deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan. [3] He went on to become commander of the 12th Mechanized Brigade in October 2011 and was deployed as commander of Task Force Helmand in April 2012. [3] [6] After that he became the Chief of the Defence Staff's Liaison Officer to the United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October 2013 and Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) at Permanent Joint Headquarters in August 2014. [3]

Chalmers was deployed on Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq in September 2015, [7] and became Deputy Commanding General-Support, III Corps and Fort Hood in August 2016. [3] He was appointed Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Dannebrog by the Queen of Denmark in May 2018. [8] He was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations) on 18 June 2018. [9] [10] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2021 Birthday Honours. [11] Chalmers was appointed as Colonel Commandant of the Queen's Division in November 2021, [12] and officially retired from the British Army on 19 February 2022. [13]

Subsequent career

In February 2021, it was announced that Chalmers would succeed Fiona Reynolds as Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. [14] He took up the post on 1 October 2021. [15]

Following a pre-appointment hearing with the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, [16] he was announced as chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life from 2024, succeeding Lord Evans of Weardale. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill</span>

Field Marshal Richard Frederick Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill, was a British Army officer. After serving with British Army of the Rhine he served with the Commonwealth Brigade in Malaysia during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He commanded the 12th Light Air Defence Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, and later commanded the 19th Airportable Brigade. Although he never served as one of the individual service heads, he went on to be Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in the late 1980s and then Chief of the Defence Staff in the aftermath of the Gulf War. He subsequently became Chair of the Military Committee of NATO in the mid-1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Messenger</span> Retired British Royal Marines general (born 1962)

General Sir Gordon Kenneth Messenger, is a retired senior Royal Marines officer who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff from May 2016 to May 2019. As a colonel he commanded 40 Commando during the Iraq War, and led the Commando in the assault on the Al-Faw Peninsula. He served as British Commander of Task Force Helmand, during the 3 Commando Brigade deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Operation Herrick IX from 2008 to 2009. After his retirement, Messenger has held ceremonial positions, including Lord High Steward at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Daly (general)</span> Australian general

Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Joseph Daly, was a senior Australian Army officer, whose career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the General Staff (1966–1971).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cooper (British Army officer)</span> British Army officer, born 1955

Lieutenant General John Cooper, is a former senior British Army officer. From March 2008 he was the Deputy Commander of Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the operational-level headquarters in Iraq, and the Senior British Military Representative-Iraq. As Deputy Commander, he was the principal assistant to General Raymond T. Odierno of the United States Army. He stepped down on 4 March 2009, and retired from the army later that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Figgures</span> British Army general

Lieutenant General Andrew Collingwood Figgures CB CBE FREng is a former Master-General of the Ordnance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lorimer (British Army officer)</span> British Army general

Lieutenant General Sir John Gordon Lorimer, is a retired senior British Army officer, who served as the Chief of Joint Operations and the Defence Senior Adviser to the Middle East and North Africa. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man on 29 September 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Norton</span> Retired British Army officer (born 1962)

Lieutenant General Sir George Pemberton Ross Norton, is a retired British Army officer. He was the UK Military Representative to NATO from 2016 to 2020, and has served as the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Evans (British Army officer)</span> British Army officer

Lieutenant General Timothy Paul Evans, is a retired British Army officer, who served as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 2012 to 2013 and then commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps from 2013 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Davis (Royal Marines officer)</span> British senior Royal Marines officer

Lieutenant General Edward Grant Martin Davis, is a former senior Royal Marines officer. He was Commandant General Royal Marines from December 2011 to June 2014, and the Deputy Commander of NATO's Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, from 2014 to 2015. He was Governor of Gibraltar from 2016 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Carleton-Smith</span> British Army general (born 1964)

General Sir Mark Alexander Popham Carleton-Smith, is a senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff from June 2018 to June 2022. He previously served as Director Special Forces and commanded 22 Special Air Service Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Chiswell</span> Former British Army officer

Major General James Robert Chiswell, is a former British Army officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Radford (British Army officer)</span> British army officer

General Sir Timothy Buchan Radford, is a retired British Army officer who served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and Deputy Commander Resolute Support Mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Skeates</span> British Army officer (born 1966)

Lieutenant General Stuart Richard Skeates, is a retired senior British Army officer. He served as Deputy Commander of JFC Brunssum from December 2018 to December 2021. He also previously served as Standing Joint Force Commander from 2015 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Sanders (British Army officer)</span> British Army officer and Chief of the General Staff since 2022

General Sir Patrick Nicholas Yardley Monrad Sanders, is a senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff from 13 June 2022 until 15 June 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Stickland</span> British general (born 1968)

Lieutenant General Sir Charles Richard Stickland, is a senior Royal Marines officer, who has served as the Chief of Joint Operations since November 2021. He was Commandant General Royal Marines from January 2018 to June 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Smyth</span> Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer

Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer, who has been the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since March 2024. Previously, he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group (2018–2020) and Air and Space Commander (2022–2024). Between February 2020 and August 2022, he took up the new post of Director Space, in the Ministry of Defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Weir</span> British military officer

Major General Colin Richard James Weir, is a retired senior British Army officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwyn Jenkins</span> Royal Marines general

General Gwyn Jenkins, is a senior Royal Marines officer, who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff from August 2022 to June 2024. He was concurrently appointed Commandant General Royal Marines in November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Robinson</span> British naval officer

Vice Admiral Guy Antony Robinson, is a senior Royal Navy officer. Since September 2021, he has served as Chief of Staff of NATO Allied Command Transformation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Harrison (British army officer)</span> Military General of the United Kingdom

Lieutenant General Andrew Sean David Harrison, is a retired senior officer in the British Army who served as the Deputy Commander of United Nations Command in South Korea from 2021 to 2023, and is Colonel Commandant of the Parachute Regiment.

References

  1. 1 2 "Chalmers, Lt Gen. Douglas McKenzie". Who's Who 2020 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U285158. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 Duffy, Joseph (9 June 2023). "Master of Emmanuel: 'I was very worried. Perceptions, and what people think of you, matter'". Varsity Online. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Major General DM Chalmers DSO OBE" (PDF). Fort Hood. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Doug Chalmers CB DSO OBE: Master". Emmanuel College. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "No. 50683". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 October 1986. pp. 13259–13260.
  6. ↑ "Britain's Afghan commander: rising threat of 'green on blue' attacks". The Telegraph. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Department of Defense Press Briefing by Maj. Gen. Chalmers via teleconference in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room". Department of Defense. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "No. 62283". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 May 2018. p. 8435.
  9. ↑ "General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" . Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "No. 62369". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 July 2018. p. 13550.
  11. ↑ "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B2.
  12. ↑ "No. 63516". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 November 2021. p. 19475.
  13. ↑ "No. 63622". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 February 2022. p. 3187.
  14. ↑ "Doug Chalmers elected as the next Master of Emmanuel". Emmanuel College. University of Cambridge. 11 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Fellows: Doug Chalmers". Emmanuel College. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "The Appointment of Douglas Chalmers CB DSO OBE as Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life - Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee".
  17. ↑ "Doug Chalmers appointed as chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life". GOV.UK.
Military offices
Preceded by Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations)
2018–2021		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
2021 to present		Incumbent
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.