Mark Nicholas Gray

Colonel Mark Gray
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Marines
Years of service	1984 - Present.
Rank	Colonel
Unit	FPGRM
Commands held	FPGRM
Battles/wars	Northern Iraq, Croatian War of Independence, Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, Beirut, Iraq,
Awards	MBE

Mark Nicholas Gray MBE is a Colonel in the British Royal Marines who stopped a disaster at the hydroelectric Peruća Dam^[1][2][3] during the Croatian offensive of 27–28 January 1993 when he raised the spillway channel and reduced the level of water in the lake. This prevented collapse of the dam when the withdrawing Serbs detonated 30 tons of explosives they had placed there.^[4]

In 1993 Gray defied land mines and booby traps to open a sluice gate on top of the Peruća dam in Croatia shortly before the occupying Serbs detonated explosives deep inside it.^[5] This action had been unknown to the public until described to the Science Festival in 1995 by engineering Professor Paul Back from Oxford University. He described how Serbian militia had expelled UN observers from the 65-metre-high dam in January, 1993, and set off huge explosives in a maintenance gallery that ran the dam's length at foundation level. "This was an attempt to use the 540 million cubic metres of stored water as a weapon of mass destruction to the downstream land and population," said Professor Back. "Some 20,000 people would have been drowned or rendered homeless had the dam failed as intended." Severe damage was caused to three points in the dam corresponding to where the saboteurs had placed their explosives. In the central section alone it was estimated that 15 tons of explosive material had been used. At each of these three points the top of the dam, made of rock fill with a clay core, sagged by two metres, said Professor Back, who was a member of a British team despatched by the Overseas Development Administration to inspect it and advise on repairs after the Croatians reoccupied it. "During the tenure of the UN observers, but while the dam was in Serb hands, Gray had visited the site and observed that the Serbs were holding the water level well above the correct full supply level," he said. "On his own initiative, and exceeding his authority, he opened the surface spillway gate sufficiently to slowly reduce the water level. He managed to lower the water level by some metres by the time the attempt to destroy the dam took place. Had he not been able to reduce the level, there is no doubt that the dam would have failed as water would have poured over the slumped crest after the explosions." As it was, Professor Back said it was only a miracle that the dam had not failed. With gunfire echoing in the hills engineers had to race against time before the ongoing erosion of the dam's clay core caused a blow-through and total collapse. Professor Back said he learned later that Major Gray could have been disciplined for exceeding his authority. "I wrote to the Ministry of Defence and told him he should be given a medal instead."

Gray^[6] was educated at Bradfield College and Durham University, where he studied Russian. He joined the Royal Marines in 1984 and has seen service in Northern Ireland (Operation Banner), Northern Iraq (Operation Provide Comfort 1991), Iraq (Operation Telic), Beirut (Operation Highbrow) and the former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR).

He has had staff appointments at the Permanent Joint Headquarters, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in The Pentagon (as the deputy CDS liaison officer during the build up and conduct of the 2003 Iraq invasion), Navy Resources and Plans in the Ministry of Defence and the Headquarters of the Multi-National Force – Iraq in Baghdad. He has taught at the Joint Services Command and Staff College. On promotion to Colonel he was appointed to the staff of Fleet Commander Operations. He also attended the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

He was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2002.^[7][8] He was appointed Commanding Officer Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines in succession to Colonel R.A.W. Spencer, OBE, Royal Marines, with effect from June 2009,^[9] although he took up the appointment in July.^[10]

Honours And Awards

MBE - 2002

See also

• Brana Peruća (Croatian Language Wikipedia Page)
• Photo of destroyed dam

References

1. ^ Unsung army officer saved 20,000 lives
2. ^ Dangerous Forces: Dams, Dikes, and Nuclear Stations
3. ^ Unsung army officer saved 20,000 lives - The Independent, Sep 16, 1995
4. ^ Croatian Memorial Document Center of the Homeland War
5. ^ Serb sabotage foiled by British officer. How unsung hero saved 20,000 from dam disaster
6. ^ Commanding Officer, Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines
7. ^ Military honours: Royal Navy
8. ^ The Guardian
9. ^ Service Appointments: Navy, of 26 September 2008
10. ^ Navy News June 2009, Assignments

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