Charles Stickland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Stickland
Stickland inspects Royal Marines (cropped).jpg
Major General Stickland in 2018
Born (1968-05-16) 16 May 1968 (age 53)
Pembury, Kent, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Marines
Years of service1987 –
RankLieutenant General
Commands heldChief of Joint Operations
Commandant General Royal Marines
3 Commando Brigade
42 Commando
Battles/warsNorthern Ireland
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service

Lieutenant General Charles Richard Stickland, CB, OBE (born 16 May 1968) is a senior Royal Marines officer who is the Chief of Joint Operations since November 2021. He served as Commandant General Royal Marines from January 2018 until June 2019.

Early life and education[]

Stickland was born on 16 May 1968 in Pembury, Kent, England.[1] He was educated at Sevenoaks School, an independent school in Kent.[2] He studied at City University, London, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in systems and management science and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in defence studies.[1]

Military career[]

Stickland was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1987.[3] He first saw service in Northern Ireland and went on to complete amphibious operations in the Mediterranean and Far East on anti-smuggling operations.[4] In 1999 he was selected for Staff College and spent time in the Ministry of Defence in procurement; from there he became the Ministry of Defence lead for West and Southern Africa, co-ordinating military activity across the region.[5]

Stickland became Senior UK Liaison Officer with the US XVIII Airborne Corps in Baghdad in 2005, Chief of Staff of the UK Task Force in Afghanistan in 2006 for which he was awarded a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service.[6] He returned for another tour in Afghanistan as commander 42 Commando in 2008.[3] On promotion to colonel in 2010 he became team leader of the Fleet Operational Policy team on the 'Gulf Preparedness Initiative' as well as oversight of counterpiracy operations and the Maritime Trade Organisation node in Dubai.[7] He then went on to be Chief of Staff of the Joint Force Headquarters in 2012 and on completion of the Higher Command and Staff Course he became commander of 3 Commando Brigade in 2014.[3] After that he became Chief Joint Force Operations in 2016 a role that entailed a number of non-Combatant Evacuation and Humanitarian Assistance operations.[4]

Promoted to major general in October 2017, Stickland was appointed commander of Operation Atalanta on 7 November.[5] He became Commandant General Royal Marines in January 2018.[7] He handed over command of Commandant General Royal Marines to Major General Matthew Holmes in June 2019.[8] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2019 Birthday Honours.[9] He became Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations and Commitments) at the Ministry of Defence in June 2019[10] and Chief of Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in November 2021.[11]

Personal life[]

Stickland is married to his wife Mishy and has three sons. His interests include rugby, climbing and skiing.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Stickland, Maj. Gen. Charles Richard". Who's Who 2019. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Sevenoaks School". Potentiality Online Communities. Retrieved 20 January 2019.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b c "Major General Charlie Stickland OBE" (PDF). EU. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Major General Charlie Stickland OBE". The Royal Marines Charity. Retrieved 20 January 2019.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b "Major General Magowan hands over Operation Command of EU NAVFOR Somalia to Major General Stickland". EU Naval Force. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  6. ^ "QCVS" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b "Supersession of the Commandant General Royal Marines". Royal Marines Charity. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Supersession of the Commandant General Royal Marines (CGRM)". theroyalmarinescharity.org.uk. Plymouth. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  9. ^ "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B2.
  10. ^ "Ministry of Defence and Tri-Service Appointments" (PDF). gulabin.com (pdf). 20 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Lieutenant General Charlie Stickland CB OBE". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
Military offices
Preceded by Commandant General Royal Marines
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations & Commitments)
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of Joint Operations
2021–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""