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Rupert Jones (British Army officer)

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Rupert Jones
Jones in August 2016
Born (1969-04-29) 29 April 1969 (age 55)
Germany
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1987–2021
RankMajor General
UnitThe Rifles
CommandsStanding Joint Force (2018–2021)
1st Armoured Infantry Brigade (2012–2014)
4th Battalion, The Rifles (2008–2010)
Battles / warsBosnian War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
The Troubles
Operation Inherent Resolve
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)
RelationsH. Jones (father)

Major General Rupert Timothy Herbert Jones, CBE (born 29 April 1969) is a retired senior British Army officer, who served as the Standing Joint Force Commander from November 2018 to July 2021.

Early life

Jones was born in Germany, the youngest son of H. Jones, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions as commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment during the Battle of Goose Green in the Falklands War of 1982. Rupert Jones attended St. Peter's Preparatory School in Seaford, Sussex and Sherborne School. He later read History at the University of Reading.[1]

Military career

Jones joined the British Army as an undergraduate cadet in 1987[2] and was commissioned into the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment,[1] his father's former regiment. He served his early career in Germany, Northern Ireland and Bosnia, and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 Birthday Honours.[3] Following company command, he served as Chief of Staff 12th Mechanized Brigade, deploying to Iraq in 2005. He served as commanding officer of 4th Battalion, The Rifles from 2008 to 2010, during which the battalion deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick. Jones was said to be "immensely frustrated" that his battalion was split up among other battle groups and he was left to command from the rear at Camp Bastion. He was the leading candidate to command the Welsh Guards battle group after Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe was killed in action but Bridage commander Brigadier Tim Radford opted for SAS veteran Charlie Antelme instead.[4]

In February 2010, he launched the Care for Casualties appeal on behalf of the Rifles.[5]

During his career Jones has served in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on numerous occasions, including as an SO3 in the Directorate of Military Operations with responsibility for Military Aid to the Civil Authorities and Counter Terrorism, as Military Assistant to the MOD's Director of Operations, as the Armed Forces representative advising Lord Levene's Steering Group during Defence Reform, and for a short period as the Chief of the General Staff's Colonel Army Strategy.[1]

Jones was promoted to colonel, with seniority, from July 2011.[6] He completed the Higher Command and Staff Course the following year and then took command of 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade, where he commanded Task Force Helmand from April to October 2013.[7] While in Afghanistan, he was promoted to brigadier.[8] In March 2014, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, following service to the War in Afghanistan.[9][10][11] From 2014 to 2016, he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and the Chief of Staff to the Standing Joint Commander (UK) in the Army HQ.[1]

Operation Inherent Resolve

United Kingdom Maj. Gen. Rupert Jones, Deputy Commander – Strategy and Support, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, (CJTF-OIR),speaks with a British explosive ordnance disposal trainer during a visit near Erbil, Iraq, 7 November 2016. CJTF-OIR is a multinational effort to weaken and destroy Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant operations in the Middle East region and around the world. (US Army photo by Sgt. Lisa Soy)
Jones speaks with a British explosive ordnance disposal trainer during a visit near Erbil, Iraq, November 2016.

In April 2016 Jones was promoted to major general, becoming, at age 47, the youngest general in the British Army at the time, and was appointed the deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) later that year.[1] In November 2016, he hailed the "extraordinary amount of progress" made by the international coalition, as result of their daily strikes against Da'esh.[12]

In February 2017, during a briefing in London, Jones stated: "We as an international coalition have always been very clear: if you are going to take up arms on behalf of Da'esh, and you are going to kill innocent civilians, we will find you and we will kill you. That does not matter whether they are from London, or Paris, or from Baghdad. We will target you under the laws of armed conflict".[13][14] He added that Da'esh fighters were being killed "at a rate they simply can't sustain".[15] Commenting on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he said: "If we in the international coalition knew where he was, for certain then he wouldn't stay alive for very long. I think if he was dead then there probably would have been an announcement to say he's dead. Most of Baghdadi's lieutenants are dead. He is now frankly in hiding. His narrative of some kind of caliphate, well that's exposed as a lie when you're in hiding yourself."[13]

In August 2017, Jones echoed comments made by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a Pentagon press conference, by giving Da'esh fighters the choice to "surrender or die".[16] He went on to say that Da'esh "are losing on all fronts. They are losing on the battlefield, they are losing financially, the flow of foreign fighters has slowed to a trickle. Their narrative has been significantly discredited".[16]

Jones handed over to Major General Felix Gedney in late August 2017.[17]

Senior staff and command

In January 2018, Jones was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff in succession to Major General Nick Welch. The role represents the Chief of the General Staff in Whitehall.[18] Jones was appointed an Officer of the Legion of Merit by the United States in May 2018 for his service in Iraq and Syria.[19] On 3 September 2018, his title was renamed as Director Engagement and Communications (D E&C), acting as the Army's communications director with responsibility for all internal and external engagement.[20]

Jones was appointed Standing Joint Force Commander in November 2018.[21] In August 2020 he faced allegations in the media of breaking COVID-19 lockdown to conduct an affair with a married woman, but was reportedly cleared of wrongdoing by the military.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "MAJOR GENERAL RUPERT JONES > Operation Inherent Resolve > BioDisplay". inherentresolve.mil. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ^ "No. 51080". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 October 1987. p. 12388.
  3. ^ "No. 56237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2001. p. 6.
  4. ^ Harnden, Toby, "Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the Real Story of Britain's War in Afghanistan,"Quercus, 2011, p. 343-4.
  5. ^ "Winchester-based regiment launches appeal for wounded soldiers". Hampshire Chronicle.
  6. ^ "No. 59840". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 July 2011. p. 12724.
  7. ^ "Falklands hero H Jones's son to command British troops in Afghanistan". The Daily Telegraph. 21 November 2014.
  8. ^ "No. 60557". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 July 2013. p. 12985.
  9. ^ "No. 60813". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 March 2014. p. 5835.
  10. ^ "CBE son of Falklands hero Colonel 'H' Jones says father would be 'proud'". The Telegraph.
  11. ^ "Operational Honours and Awards List: 21 March 2014". Government of the United Kingdom.
  12. ^ MacAskill, Ewen (27 November 2016). "UK commander in Iraq calls for patience over retaking Mosul from Isis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  13. ^ a b "General warns Brit IS fighters: 'We'll kill you'". Sky News. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Isis fighters 'will be killed by Coalition forces in Iraq and Syria'". London Evening Standard. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Isis militants being killed 'at a rate they simply can't sustain', UK general says". The Independent. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  16. ^ a b McIntyre, Jamie. "UK general to ISIS: 'Surrender or die'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Major General Felix Gedney > Operation Inherent Resolve > BioDisplay". inherentresolve.mil. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Army Command senior, as of April 2017". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  19. ^ "No. 62283". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 2018. p. 8434.
  20. ^ "What's in a name? Title changes for two senior British Army leaders". British Army. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Future Battles will be complex". Soldier Magazine. 1 November 2018. p. 16. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  22. ^ Hamilton, Fiona (10 August 2020). "General in 'lockdown tryst' faces bullying claim". Retrieved 17 January 2021.
Military offices
Preceded by Assistant Chief of the General Staff
January – September 2018 		Succeeded by
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