John McColl

Infobox Military Person
name=Sir John McColl
lived=17 April 1952 -
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption= General Sir John McColl
Picture: Crown Copyright
nickname=
branch=
allegiance=flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
serviceyears=1973—
rank=General
commands=1 Mechanised Brigade
3rd (UK) Mechanised Division
unit=
battles=Northern Ireland
Bosnian War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
awards=Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order
laterwork=
General Sir John Chalmers McColl KCB, CBE, DSO (b. 17 April 1952) is Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Educated at Culford School, he was commissioned into the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1973. In 1989 he became a squadron commander in the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment. He held a variety of commands and military posts before commanding 1 Mechanised Brigade in 1997. In 1999 he became Assistant Chief of Staff at Land Command and in 2000 he was given command of 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division. In 2001 he was appointed the first leader of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1720099.stm John McColl Profile on BBC News] ]

In 2003 he came Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College.

In 2004 he was appointed Deputy Commander and Senior British Representative in the Multinational Force Iraq, and in 2005 he became Commander, Regional Forces. [ [http://ccw.politics.ox.ac.uk/events/bios/mccoll_j.asp Oxford Leverhulme biography] ]

In October 2007 he became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) in the rank of General, [ [http://www.army.mod.uk/servingsoldier/senior_appts/announcements.htm Senior Officer appointments] ] replacing General Sir John Reith KCB CBE.

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

According to reports from Associated Press [ [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iiZqu2uhA2MGU6VransQKhyln8cAD8UEI6FG0 "Kabul Vetoes Ashdown As UN 'Super Envoy' ", 27 Jan 08] ] and other media outlets, General McColl is touted as a preferred choice to become a new "super envoy" in Afghanistan after Paddy Ashdown was reportedly rejected by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

References