Mark Carleton-Smith

General Sir Mark Alexander Popham Carleton-Smith (born 9 February 1964) 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. Early life and education Born on 9 February 1964 at Bielefeld, West Germany, to Major General Sir Michael Carleton-Smith, he began his education at Cheltenham College Junior School, before attending Eton College, an all-boys public school. In 1982, he went to Hatfield College, Durham, to pursue an Army-sponsored degree in Politics and Modern History. He graduated from Durham University with a lower second class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985. Military career Carleton-Smith was commissioned into the Irish Guards on 3 September 1982, before going up to Durham, graduating as BA. He was promoted to lieutenant on 6 September 1985 (with seniority from 9 April), then to captain on 9 April 1989, and then to major on 30 September 1995. After operational service in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, he was deployed to the Gulf War in 1991, and then saw active service as an SAS squadron commander in Bosnia later in the 1990s. Carleton-Smith became Chief of Staff of 19 Mechanized Brigade in 1999 and served as Chief of Staff HQ Multi-National Brigade Centre during the Kosovo War later that year. In recognition of his military service in Kosovo, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours, and then awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service on 3 November 2000.