Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
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The Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS) is the deputy to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces.[1] It is also the second most senior position within the British Armed Forces. The position was titled Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff before 1964.[2] From 1966 to 1978 the post was occupied by a 3 star officer. From 1978 the post has been held by a 4 star officer.
| Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Ministry of Defence | |
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Abbreviation | VCDS |
| Member of | Defence Council Chiefs of Staff Committee |
| Reports to | Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Nominator | Secretary of State for Defence |
| Appointer | Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council |
| Precursor | Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Formation | February 1964 |
| First holder | Air Chief Marshal Sir Alfred Earle |
| Website | Official website |
The Vice Chief of the Defence Staff deputises for the Chief of the Defence Staff and has responsibility for running the armed forces aspects of defence business, principally through the central staff. VCDS is responsible for:
- Deputising for CDS (in particular as Military Strategic Commander)
- Co-ordinating delivery of top-level decisions-making, implementation and monitoring progress
- Leading senior military judgement for the future development of the armed forces including the definition and delivery for military capability requirements; and being capability sponsor for capital projects and programmes
- Defence Board lead for military personnel and training (including Reserves)
- Leading the preparation of the armed forces input to SDSRs
- (with CDS) conduct of the military strategic dialogue[3]
List of Vice Chiefs of the Defence Staff
These are:[2]
| No. | Picture | Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Alfred Earle GBE, CB (1907–1990) | February 1964 | May 1966 | Royal Air Force | |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Sir George Cole KCB, CBE (1911–1973) | May 1966 | November 1967 | British Army | |
| 3 | Vice Admiral Sir Ian Hogg KCB, DSC & Bar (1911–2003) | November 1967 | March 1970 | Royal Navy | |
| 4 | Air Marshal Sir John Barraclough KCB, CBE, DFC, AFC (1918–2008) | March 1970 | February 1972 | Royal Air Force | |
| 5 | Lieutenant General Sir John Gibbon GCB, OBE (1917–1997) | February 1972 | January 1974 | British Army | |
| 6 | Air Marshal Sir Peter Le Cheminant KCB, DFC & Bar (1920–2018) | January 1974 | January 1976 | Royal Air Force | |
| 7 | Vice Admiral Sir Henry Leach KCB (1923–2011) | January 1976 | March 1977 | Royal Navy | |
| 8 | Vice Admiral Sir Anthony Morton KCB (1923–2006) | March 1977 | April 1978 | Royal Navy | |
| 9 | General Sir Edwin Bramall KCB, OBE, MC (1923–2019) | April 1978 | May 1979 | British Army | |
| 10 | General Sir Patrick Howard-Dobson GCB (1921–2009) | May 1979 | June 1981 | British Army | |
| 11 | Air Chief Marshal Sir David Evans GCB, CBE (1924–2020) | June 1981 | June 1983 | Royal Air Force | |
| 12 | Admiral Sir Peter Herbert KCB, OBE (1929–2019) | June 1983 | January 1985 | Royal Navy | |
| 13 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Harding KCB (1933–2021) | January 1985 | August 1985 | Royal Air Force | |
| 14 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick Hine KCB (born 1932) | August 1985 | October 1987 | Royal Air Force | |
| 15 | General Sir Richard Vincent KCB, DSO (1931–2018) | October 1987 | March 1991 | British Army | |
| 16 | Admiral Sir Benjamin Bathurst GCB (born 1936) | March 1991 | January 1993 | Royal Navy | |
| 17 | Admiral Sir John Slater GCB, LVO (born 1938) | January 1993 | April 1995 | Royal Navy | |
| 18 | Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis GBE, KCB (1937–2008) | April 1995 | October 1997 | Royal Air Force | |
| 19 | Admiral Sir Peter Abbott GBE, KCB (1942–2015) | October 1997 | May 2001 | Royal Navy | |
| 20 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Bagnall GBE, KCB (born 1945) | May 2001 | July 2005 | Royal Air Force | |
| 21 | General Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman GBE, KCB (born 1947) | July 2005 | May 2009 | British Army | |
| 22 | General Sir Nicholas Houghton GCB, CBE (born 1954) | May 2009 | May 2013 | British Army | |
| 23 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach GBE, KCB (born 1956) | May 2013 | May 2016 | Royal Air Force | |
| 24 | General Sir Gordon Messenger KCB, DSO & Bar, OBE (born 1962) | May 2016 | May 2019 | Royal Marines | |
| 25 | Admiral Sir Timothy Fraser KCB | May 2019 | September 2022 | Royal Navy | |
| 26 | General Gwyn Jenkins CB, OBE | August 2022[4] | June 2024 | Royal Marines | |
| 27 | General Dame Sharon Nesmith DCB, ADC | June 2024[5] | British Army |
- ^ Vice Chief of Defence Staff Ministry of Defence
- ^ a b "V: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND TRI-SERVICE SENIOR APPOINTMENTS" (PDF). Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ "General Gwyn Jenkins CB OBE ADC". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 June 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
- ^ "No. 63818". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 September 2022. p. 17754.
- ^ "General Dame Sharon Nesmith DCB ADC". Ministry of Defense. gov.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
