James Bucknall
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General James Jeffrey Corfield Bucknall, CBE, OW (born 1958) is a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 officer and currently Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

 in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

.

Military career

Bucknall graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

 and was commissioned into Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards as a second lieutenant on a short service commission on 8 April 1978. His first promotion was to lieutenant in April 1980. He transferred from a short service commission to a regular commission in 1983, retaining seniority in his rank, before promotion to captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

 in October 1984.

After attending the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...

, Bucknall attained field officer
Field officer
A field officer is an army, marine, or air force commissioned officer senior in rank to a company officer but junior to a general officer; in some navies, it is an officer who is a Lieutenant Commander, Commander, or Captain....

 status with promotion to major in September 1990. He took up a company command
Company Commander
A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 350 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons....

, after which he served in a staff post at HQ Northern Ireland
HQ Northern Ireland
HQ Northern Ireland was the command formation responsible for the administration of all British Armed Forces stationed in and around Northern Ireland...

, and was Mentioned in Despatches in recognition of his services in the province. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1995, prior to assuming command of 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards in Germany. In 1998, he was appointed chief of staff of 1st Armoured Division, and deployed to Bosnia to join the division.

He was promoted to colonel in 1999 and, after completing the Higher Command and Staff Course
Higher Command and Staff Course
The Higher Command and Staff Course is a staff course for senior military officers of the United Kingdom armed forces and allies. It is taught at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom....

, to brigadier
Brigadier (United Kingdom)
Brigadier is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines.Brigadier is the superior rank to Colonel, but subordinate to Major-General....

 on 31 December 2001, with seniority from 30 June 2001. Bucknall returned to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 in 2003, taking command of 39 Infantry Brigade
39th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
The British 39th Infantry Brigade was a military formation of the British Army that was first established during World War I and reformed in the 1950s.-World Wars:...

, with responsibility for Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 and the surrounding area during The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

. In recognition of "gallant and distinguished services" while commanding 39 Brigade, Bucknall was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). After Northern Ireland, Bucknall was assigned to the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 in London as Director Counter-Terrorism and UK Operations, after which he served in a staff position in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 with responsibility for strategic planning, for which he was later awarded the American Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

 (Degree of Officer), "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services during coalition operations", and granted unrestricted permission to wear the decoration on his uniform.

High command

Bucknall attained general officer status with promotion to major general
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...

 on 18 September 2006, whereupon he was appointed Chief of Staff of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and initially deployed to Afghanistan to join, becoming chief of staff to ISAF IX, led by the ARRC. He was appointed honorary colonel of the Coldstream Guards in October 2009, in succession to Sir Michael Rose. From 2009 to 2010, Bucknall served as an Assistant Chief of the General Staff
Assistant Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)
-Responsibilities:The Assistant Chief of the General Staff supports the Chief of the General Staff in his responsibilities, sets the conditions for the British Army to contribute to success on operations, ensures coherence across the 'Defence Lines of Development' and develops the Army of the...

.

Bucknall was promoted to Lieutenant General on 31 August 2010. He was appointed Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

—second in command of 130,000 troops from 48 countries—and United Kingdom National Contingent Commander, Kabul—overall commander of all British forces in Afghanistan—succeeding General Sir Nick Parker. While in Afghanistan, Bucknall emphasised that a continued effort was required to maintain the momentum in improving the security situation in the country, saying "progress is not irreversible, we are yet to make it so. But we are certainly on the right track". In February 2011 he became Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

Personal life

Bucknall was educated at Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

, an independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

 boys' school in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

. He lists his interests as history, field sports, cricket and association football, supporting Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK