Richard Barrons General Sir Richard Lawson Barrons , is a British Army officer . He is currently Commander , Joint Forces Command . Barrons ' early career was spent in various staff and field posts in the UK , across Europe , and in the Far East . He also spent time working at the Ministry of Defence and in education . Sent to Germany in 1991 , Barrons then served his first tour of duty in the Balkans in 1993 . Returning to the UK , Barrons took up a staff position and went on to do a tour in Northern Ireland and then to become a Military Assistant , first to the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and then to the Chief of the General Staff . Between 2000 and 2003 , Barrons served again in the Balkans , in Afghanistan during the early days of International Security Assistance Force , and then in a staff position in Basra , Iraq . As a brigadier in 2003 , Barrons served his second tour in Northern Ireland , this time as a brigade commander . In 2005 , he was appointed to Assistant Chief of Staff , Commitments , a senior staff position . He was promoted to major general in 2008 and deployed to Iraq for the second time , this time to Baghdad , with responsibility for joint operations . He then served briefly with the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps before being sent to Afghanistan for the second time , when he headed an ISAF reintegration unit to provide incentives for Taliban soldiers to surrender . He later became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff ( Operations ) . Military career . Barrons was commissioned as a second lieutenant ( on probation ) ( university cadetship ) into the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 2 September 1977 . He studied Philosophy , Politics and Economics at The Queen ' s College , Oxford and completed his university cadetship , becoming a full - time army officer on 21 June 1980 . His commission was confirmed in 1981 , with seniority from 17 May 1977 and he was promoted to lieutenant with seniority from 17 May 1979 . Between 1980 and 1990 , he served in various positions across Europe and the Far East as well as in a staff position at the Ministry of Defence in London . He was promoted to captain in 19 November 1983 . and took a Master ' s Degree in Defence Administration in 1990 , after which he attended the British Army ' s Staff College , Camberley in 1991 . Barrons ' first field officer promotion was to major in September 1991 . He was sent to Germany to take up a position as chief of staff , 11 Armoured Brigade , which then deployed to the Balkans in 1993 . Barrons then served briefly as Balkans desk officer at the Directorate of Military Operations and before becoming company commander of B Battery , 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery from 1994 – 1996 , which included a tour of duty in Northern Ireland . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1997 . After promotion , he served again in Bosnia , as Military Assistant ( MA ) to the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and then , back in the UK , as MA to the Chief of the General Staff . He went on to command 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery , headquartered in Hohne Germany , with which he deployed to the Balkans again in 2001 . At the end of 2001 , Barrons was appointed chief of staff of the 3rd ( United Kingdom ) Division and immediately deployed to Afghanistan , where the division assisted in establishing the International Security Assistance Force . After serving in Afghanistan , Barrons returned to the UK to attend the Higher Command and Staff Course , before promotion to colonel in June 2002 . Barrons ' next deployment was to Iraq in 2003 as chief of staff , Multinational Division ( South East ) , stationed in Basra . High command . Barrons was promoted to brigadier on 31 December 2003 , with seniority from 30 June 2003 . Upon promotion , he was posted to Northern Ireland , commanding 39 Infantry Brigade in Belfast , a position he held for two years . After Northern Ireland , he was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff , Commitments in 2005 , with day - today responsibility for British Army operations . Barrons attained general officer status in 2008 , when he was promoted to the substantive rank of major general and appointed Deputy Commanding General , Multi - National Corps – Iraq . He was posted to Baghdad , where he had responsibility for overseeing joint operations conducted by the multinational force and the Iraqi Army . Having served in Iraq , he returned to the UK to take up a staff post in April 2009 as chief of staff to the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps ( ARRC ) , but the appointment was short - lived as , in October 2009 , he deployed to Afghanistan at short notice to establish a force reintegration unit , part of an effort to persuade Taliban fighters to rejoin society by offering alternatives to fighting , such as jobs and training — a role for which he was hand - picked by American General Stanley A . McChrystal , then commander of all troops in Afghanistan . Barrons defended the controversial scheme in interviews , saying that it was not " about buying insurgents off the battlefield " and that " the idea is that you get the whole community benefiting and turning against the insurgency " . In a later interview , Barrons also said " I am absolutely convinced it can be done , and that the time is right . This is an opportunity the Afghan people aren ' t going to get again . Most of them realize that , and are keen to take it now " . Barrons ' position , as of February 2011 , was as Assistant Chief of the General Staff . In May 2011 he became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff ( Operations ) in the rank of Lieutenant General . On 24 January 2013 it was announced that he was to be appointed Commander Joint Forces Command in April 2013 . Other work . Barrons co - authored a book , " The Business General : Transform your business using seven secrets of military success " , published by Random House , with Deborah Tom in 2006 . He has also lectured as a guest speaker , including at the University of Oxford . As of 2010 , Barrons was chairman of Firepower – The Royal Artillery Museum . In May 2013 , he was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Honourable Artillery Company . Personal life . Barrons is married with two daughters . Honours and decorations . Barrons was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE ) in 1993 " in recognition of service during operations in the former Republic of Yugoslavia " , He was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) in the 2000 New Year Honours . On 29 April 2003 , he was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) ' in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1 April 2002 to 30 September 2002 ' . He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( KCB ) in the 2013 Birthday Honours . In 2004 , Barrons was awarded his first Queen ' s Commendation for Valuable Service , for services in the Iraq in 2003 , his second coming in 2006 in recognition of 2005 service in Northern Ireland . He was awarded the American Legion of Merit ( Degree of Officer ) ' in recognition of gallant and distinguished services during coalition operations in Iraq ' .