Richard Cripwell
Richard John Cripwell, is a senior British Army officer. He served as Head of the British Defence Staff in Washington, D.C. from 2015 to 2017, and assumed his previous appointment as Deputy Commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission in October 2017. He is currently Deputy Commander Allied Land Command.Early life and education
Cripwell was born in 1962 in Newry, Northern Ireland. He was educated in Dublin, Ireland, and at Welbeck College.Military career
Cripwell was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1982. He became commanding officer of 26 Engineer Regiment and then served as commander of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force in Kosovo. He went on to be Assistant Chief of Staff at Permanent Joint Headquarters in January 2010, Director Strategic Transition and Assessments Group at the Headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force in February 2012 and Commander British Forces Cyprus and Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas in January 2013. After that he became Head of the British Defence Staff and Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. in March 2015. In the 2017 New Year Honours, Cripwell was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath, and in October he became the Deputy Commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission. Cripwell assumed the appointment of Deputy Commander NATO Allied Land Command on 22 February 2019.
