Rich Cantrill | |
|---|---|
 Cantrill (then Brigadier) in 2021 | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Marines |
| Years of service | 1996–present |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Commands | 3 Commando Brigade (2020–) 42 Commando (2014–16) |
| Battles/wars | Sierra Leone Civil War War in Afghanistan |
| Awards | Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross |
Major-General Richard John Cantrill, OBE , MC is a senior Royal Marines officer. In 2024 he became Commander Operations, the first Royal Marine to hold the post.
Cantrill joined the Corps of Royal Marines in 1996. He was promoted to major in 2004 and, in 2008, deployed to Afghanistan as officer commanding L Company, 42 Commando. He led the company during a three-day assault on Kasnishin, a Taliban stronghold, during the deployment, for which he was awarded the Military Cross. [1] [2] Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2010, he became Military Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Defence for Military Strategy and Operations, was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours, [3] and was made commanding officer of 42 Commando. In 2016, Cantrill was promoted to colonel and made the chief of staff for the Commander UK Amphibious Forces. [4]
Cantrill joined the Ministry of Defence as the Assistant Head for Counter-terrorism and UK Operations in 2018, and was appointed to command 3 Commando Brigade on 2 September 2020. [4] In January 2024, it was announced that he would be the next Commander Operations, the first Royal Marine to hold the post, [5] with the promotion to major general on 6 May 2024. [6]
United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called the 3 Commando Brigade, 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
Commandant is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police rank. It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp.
General John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton, Baron Houghton of Richmond, is a retired senior British Army officer and former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the British Armed Forces. He was appointed CDS in July 2013, following the retirement of General Sir David Richards. He served as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, the Green Howards in Northern Ireland during The Troubles and later became Commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland. He deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq during the Iraq War. Later, he became Chief of Joint Operations at Permanent Joint Headquarters and served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff until assuming the position of CDS. Houghton retired from the British Army in July 2016, and was succeeded as CDS by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach.
Major General Sir John Jeremy Moore, was a British senior Royal Marine officer who served as the commander of the British land forces during the Falklands War in 1982. Moore received the surrender of the Argentine forces on the islands.
Major General Julian Howard Atherden Thompson, is a military historian and former Royal Marines officer who commanded 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands War.
General Sir Nicholas Ralph Parker, is a former British Army officer who served as Commander Land Forces until December 2012.
Major General Garry Stuart Robison, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant-General Royal Marines and Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces from 2006 to 2009.
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.
Major General Andrew Salmon, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2009 to 2010.
The Navy Command is the current headquarters body of the Royal Navy, and as of 2012 its major organisational grouping. It is a hybrid, neither a command, nor simply an installation. Royal Navy official writings describe Navy Command Headquarters both as a physical site, on Whale Island, Hampshire, a collective formed of the most senior RN officers, and as a budgetary grouping.
Lieutenant General Sir James Benjamin "Jim" Dutton, is a retired Royal Marines officer and former Governor of Gibraltar. He held various staff positions in his early career, before commanding 40 Commando. As a brigadier, he held two high-level staff posts—the first at the Ministry of Defence in London, as Director of NATO policy, and the second as a British liaison to The Pentagon shortly after the September 11 attacks, where he was involved in the planning for the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan.
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.
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Major General Martin Linn Smith, is a former senior Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2014 to 2016. He was previously commander of 3 Commando Brigade, and before that Commanding Officer of 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group and Deputy Commander of 3 Commando Brigade. Smith is currently a non-executive adviser of Texo Group.
Lieutenant General Sir Robert Andrew Magowan, is a senior Royal Marines officer who serves as the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since May 2022. He previously served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2016 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022.
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.
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.
Major General Matthew John Holmes, was a British senior Royal Marines officer who served for more than three decades in the armed forces. After studying economics at the University of Exeter, he joined the Royal Marines and undertook early tours of duty to Norway, the Far East, Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe. After being deployed to Kosovo and Afghanistan, he commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008 and was awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his leadership in Afghanistan, as well as the United States Legion of Merit for his exceptionally meritorious service. Holmes served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2019 to 2021.
Major General Paul Timothy Stevenson, was a Royal Marines officer who served as commander of the British Forces Falkand Islands, and commanded 42 Commando during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
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