John Reith (British Army officer)

Infobox Military Person
name=John Reith
lived=
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption=Sir John Reith Picture: Copyright NATO
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
branch=
serviceyears=1969 —
rank=General
commands=1st Bn The Parachute Regiment
ACE Mobile Force
Chief of Joint Operations
unit=
battles=Gulf, Kosovo
awards=KCB, CBE
laterwork=

General Sir John Reith, KCB, CBE was the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) with Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) from October 2004 to October 2007.

General Sir John Reith was commissioned into The Parachute Regiment in 1969. Early appointments included; Chief of Staff of 20 Armoured Brigade, Detmold, West Germany, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment as a company commander, tours of Northern Ireland and command of 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

On 1 July 1997 he assumed the appointment of Commander Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (Land); during this tour he commanded AFOR, the NATO-led multinational deployment to Albania to help resolve the Kosovo refugee crisis. He also negotiated the undertaking by the KLA to disarm during the closing stages of the crisis. In January 2000 he assumed the post of Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Policy) in the Ministry of Defence central staff.

In August 2001, he was appointed Chief of Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters, Northwood. During this 3 year appointment he was the UK joint commander for all world wide UK overseas operations including Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Sierra Leone.

In October 2004 General Reith assumed the appointment of Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He retired from this post in October 2007 [ [http://www.army.mod.uk/servingsoldier/senior_appts/announcements.htm Senior Officer Appointments] ] .

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