David Richards ( British Army officer ) General Sir David Julian Richards ( born 4 March 1952 ) is a retired senior British Army officer who was formerly the Chief of the Defence Staff , the professional head of the British Armed Forces . He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup in this role on 29 October 2010 . Richards served in the Far East , Germany and Northern Ireland with the Royal Artillery before commanding forces in East Timor and most notably Sierra Leone , where his action without official sanctioning protected Freetown from rebel attacks during the Sierra Leone Civil War . Richards has also served with NATO as a major general , and he commanded ISAF forces in Southern Afghanistan as a lieutenant general , between 2006 and 2008 . Richards became Commander - in - Chief , Land Forces of the British Army in 2008 and held this role until 2009 when he was appointed Chief of the General Staff , the head of the British Army . He was appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff the following year . He was succeeded by General Sir Nicholas Houghton on 18 July 2013 . Early life . Born the son of John Downie Richards and Pamela Mary Richards ( née Reeves ) , Richards attended Eastbourne College and was commissioned into the Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant in 1971 . He then attended University College , Cardiff , graduating in 1974 with a degree in international relations . Army career . He served with the Royal Artillery in the Far East , Germany and the United Kingdom , including three tours in Northern Ireland , and served on the staff of the 11th Armoured Brigade in Germany . He was promoted lieutenant in 1974 , and captain in 1977 . He attended the Staff College , Camberley in 1984 . Promoted to major that year , he returned to 11th Armoured Brigade to command a field battery in 47th Field Regiment . He then served as the Chief of Staff of the Berlin Brigade for two years , before being promoted lieutenant - colonel on 30 June 1989 . He served as an instructor at the Staff College for three years , and was then given command of the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery . In 1994 he joined the Ministry of Defence as Colonel Army Plans . In December 1995 , after completing the Higher Command and Staff course , he was promoted brigadier and then became Commander of the 4th Armoured Brigade in Germany . He became Chief of Joint Force Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in 1998 . In this role , as the default commander for short notice expeditionary operations , he commanded the UK Contingent in East Timor as part of INTERFET in 1999 and twice commanded a UK Joint Task Force in Sierra Leone in 2000 . In 2000 , during the Sierra Leone Civil War , he was in command of Operation Palliser , ostensibly to rescue British and other foreign nationals but which he then independently transformed into a commitment to support the embattled national president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and lead the defence of his capital Freetown against the Revolutionary United Front . Although not initially sanctioned by London , the action was cited as a second example of the kind of liberal military intervention previously seen in Kosovo , and as such attributed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair . In April 2001 he became Chief of Staff of NATO ' s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps , with the rank of major general . He became the British Assistant Chief of the General Staff in 2002 , and on 19 January 2005 became the Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps , which carried promotion to lieutenant general . In July 2006 , command of the international forces ( the International Security Assistance Force ) in southern Afghanistan was passed to NATO forces under his command and he was promoted to the acting rank of full general ( 4 - star ) . On returning from Afghanistan , he reverted to his previous rank of Lieutenant - General . On 1 February 2008 he was promoted to substantive General and appointed Commander - in - Chief , Land Forces in succession to General Sir Redmond Watt , and on 12 June 2008 he was appointed Aide - de - Camp General to The Queen . On 17 October 2008 , " The Independent " revealed his appointment as the next Chief of the General Staff , the professional head of the Army . The Ministry of Defence later confirmed that he would take up the post in August 2009 . In early August 2009 , just before taking up his post , Richards was widely criticised when he claimed that British troops may have a role in Afghanistan for up to 40 years . General Sir Richard Dannatt handed over his appointment as Chief of the General Staff at midday on 28 August 2009 to Richards . Allegations surfaced in September 2009 of a Labour Party plot to smear the general because his daughter worked for the Conservative Party . The threat to target the general , who had taken up his new job just nine days before most of the reports appeared , was widely reported to have been one of the real reasons that Labour MP Eric Joyce resigned as an aide to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth . In February 2010 , Richards said that a " turning point " had been reached in the battle against the Taliban . He suggested troop numbers could begin to decline as early as 2011 while the majority would be withdrawn by 2015 . Richards said " we are now seeing some very optimistic signs " in the latest military offensive , Operation Moshtarak ( togetherness ) , in Helmand . The Taliban had been forced to give " serious consideration " about continuing the fight . Richards said that : " We expect the military conflict to trail off in 2011 , " who was visiting British front - line forces for the first time since taking command of the Army last year . " The combat role will start to decline in 2011 , but we will remain militarily engaged in training and support roles for another five years , and we will remain in a support role for many years to come . " He said that " The Taliban is now beginning to realise that they can lose this war , which was not the view they had a year ago . We have to reinforce the view that they can , and will , be beaten . " In 2010 , however , he also stated in a radio interview that " I think there ' s no reason why we shouldn ' t be looking at [ talking to the Taliban ] pretty soon " . On 14 July 2010 the Ministry of Defence announced that in October 2010 Richards would become the next Chief of the Defence Staff in succession to Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup . Downing Street , in a press statement to announce the intended ennoblement of Sir Jock , also announced in the same release that Sir David would take up his new post as Chief of the Defence Staff on Friday 29 October 2010 , immediately after the retirement of Sir Jock . In November 2010 , General Richards said there was no desire to " open up another front " in the Middle East but suggested that in future it " might be " necessary . David Cameron told Parliament that Britain would " take every step to cut out the terrorist cancer that lurks in the Arabian Peninsula " , but Gen Richards said an intelligence - led approach was the current strategy . Richards added : " Clearly , the primary agencies dealing with this are our intelligence and security agencies . But the military are already helping with their [ the Yemenis ' ] training . I don ' t think we want to open up another front there and nor do the Yemenis want us to do that . So we have to find other ways of doing these things and in the meantime making sure Afghanistan doesn ' t revert to becoming , if you like , a ' second Yemen ' – that is the Army ' s primary duty at the moment . Our role is to remain very close to them , to help them where they most need it and in the meanwhile focus our efforts on Afghanistan and assisting Pakistan to ensure they don ' t become the threat Yemen is beginning to be . In May 2011 , General Richards and other senior NATO officers want backing from member states to intensify the war effort in Libya by directly targeting Col Gaddafi ' s regime , rather than simply protecting Libyan civilians . " " The military campaign to date has been a significant success for NATO and our Arab allies , but we need to do more . If we do not up the ante now there is a risk that the conflict could result in Gaddafi clinging to power , " " said Gen Richards . He added that , while NATO forces were not targeting Col Gaddafi directly , he could nevertheless become a legitimate target if he was caught directly attacks against Libyan civilians . " " The United Nations resolution allows Nato to use ' all necessary means ' in Libya , " " he said . " " We are not targeting Gaddafi directly , but if it happened that he was in a command and control centre that was hit by Nato and he was killed , then that is within the rules . " " Richards was succeeded by General Sir Nicholas Houghton on 18 July 2013 . Courses and awards . Richards has attended the US Brigade Commanders , Combined Joint Force Land Component Commanders , and Joint Task Force Commanders ( Pinnacle ) Courses . His operational awards include a Mention in Despatches for services in Northern Ireland . Richards was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) for services in East Timor , and made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) for services in Sierra Leone ( Operation Barras ) . Richards was appointed and knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( KCB ) in the July 2007 operational and gallantry awards list for his services in Afghanistan . He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Rifle Volunteers on 1 September 2003 , Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery on 19 January 2005 , and on 1 April 2007 he was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas . Richards was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath ( GCB ) in the 2011 New Years Honours . Since leaving the army Richards has made a number of corporate speaking appearances , applying his military values to a business environment with a company called Military Speakers . Personal life . In 1978 he married Caroline Reyne ( née Bond ) ; Richards and his wife live in Kensington Palace . He is a keen student of military history and a qualified offshore yachtsman ( he is Admiral of the British Kiel Yacht Club ) . Lady Richards is a trustee of charities Plant for Peace and The Afghan Appeal .