Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff

The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Ministry of Defence.

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Health)
The ACDS(H) reports to the Surgeon General.


 * Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis (2008–2011)
 * Major General Jeremy Rowan (2011–2014)
 * Surgeon Rear Admiral Alasdair Walker (2014–2015)
 * Major General Martin Bricknell (2015–2018)

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Capability & Force Design)

 * Air Vice-Marshal Graeme A. Robertson (1994–1996)
 * Rear-Admiral Nigel R. Essenhigh (1996–1998)
 * Major-General John P. Kiszely (1998–2001)
 * Rear-Admiral Rory A.I. McLean (2001–2004)
 * Rear-Admiral Timothy J.H. Laurence (2004–2007)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Kevin J. Leeson (2007–2009)
 * Rear-Admiral Alan D. Richards (2009–2011)
 * Major-General Mark Poffley (2011–2014)
 * Rear Admiral Tim Fraser (2014–2017)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Richard Knighton (2017–2018)
 * Major-General Robert Magowan (2018–2020)
 * Rear Admiral Hugh Beard (2020–2022)
 * Major-General David Eastman (2022–2024)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Tim Jones (2024–present)

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy) later, Defence Engagement

 * Major-General Alexander J.S. Storrie (2011–2013)
 * Rear-Admiral Simon J. Ancona (2013–2017)
 * Major-General Giles P. Hill (2017–2019)
 * Major-General Stephen McMahon (2019–2020)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Alastair P.T. Smith (2020–present)
 * Major General Julian Buczacki (2024-present)

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Intelligence Capability)
The ACDS(IC) reports to the Chief of Defence Intelligence.


 * Major General Jerry Thomas (2009–2012)

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments)/(Operations, now Operations & Commitments)

 * Rear Admiral David Brown (1980–1982)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Clive Loader (2002–2004)
 * Major General Nick Houghton (2004–2005)
 * Major General Chris Nickols (2005–2008)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Pulford (2008–2010)
 * Major General David Capewell (2010–2011)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Bob Judson (2011–2013)
 * Major General Patrick Sanders (2013–2015)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Edward Stringer (2015–2017)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Turner (2017–2019)
 * Major General Charles Stickland (2019–2021)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Allan Marshall (2021–2024)
 * Rear Admiral Steve Moorhouse (2024-present)

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel Capability)
Since 1992, the Defence Services Secretary has usually holds the appointment of ACDS(P) as a secondary role.


 * Major General Brian Pennicott (1992–1994)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Peter John Harding (1994–1998)
 * Rear Admiral Rodney Lees (1998–2001)
 * Major General Christopher Elliot (2001–2004)
 * Air Vice-Marshal David Pocock (2004–2005)
 * Rear Admiral Peter Wilkinson (2005–2007)
 * Major General Matthew Sykes (2009–2010)
 * Air Vice-Marshal David Murray (2010–2012)
 * Rear Admiral Simon Williams (2012–2015)
 * Major General Richard Nugee (2015–2016)
 * Air Vice-Marshal Garry Tunnicliffe (2016–2019)
 * Rear-Admiral James Macleod (2019–2022)
 * Rear-Admiral Philip Hally (2022–present)

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Policy)

 * Air Vice-Marshal John Gingell (1975–1978)
 * Rear Admiral Jock Slater (1985–1987)
 * Air Vice-Marshal David Hobart (2001–2004)
 * Major General Andrew Stewart (2004–2006)
 * Rear Admiral Alan Richards (2006–2009)
 * Major General Jonathan Shaw (2009–2012)

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets)
The ACDS(R&C) is the senior reservist of the British Armed Forces. They are responsible for tri-service policy relating to the reserves and cadet forces. The appointment was created in 2004.


 * Major General Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster (2004–2007)
 * Major General Simon Lalor (2007–2010)
 * Major General Greg Smith (2010–2013)
 * Major General John Crackett (2013–2016)
 * Major General Ranald Munro (2016–2019)
 * Major General Simon Brooks-Ward (2019–2022)
 * Major General Marc Overton (2022–present)

Assistant Chief of the Defense Staff (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological)

 * Rear Admiral John Gower (2011-2014)