Portal:University of Oxford/Selected biography/61

Richard Barrons (born 1959) is a general in the British Army, currently Commander, Joint Forces Command. After studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The Queen's College, Oxford, his early army career was spent in various staff and field posts, serving his first tour of duty in the Balkans in 1993. After a tour in Northern Ireland, he became a Military Assistant 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 (ISAF), and 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. He was promoted to major general in 2008 and deployed to Iraq for the second time, with responsibility for joint operations. He then served briefly with the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps before heading an ISAF reintegration unit in Afghanistan to provide incentives for Taliban soldiers to surrender. He later became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations).