Gary Coward

Sir Gary Coward
Born	26 August 1955
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1974–2012
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	Bosnian War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath

Lieutenant General Sir Gary Robert Coward KBE, CB (born 26 August 1955) is a retired senior British Army officer, who served as Chief of Materiél (Land) and Quartermaster-General to the Forces from September 2009 until his retirement in May 2012.

Military career

Coward was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1974,^[1] but transferred to the Army Air Corps in 1983.^[2] In 1995 he was deployed to the Bosnia and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his service there.^[3] He provided daily briefings on television from Sarajevo during the conflict.^[4]

He was appointed Director of Equipment Capability at the Ministry of Defence in 2003,^[5] and then moved on to be General Officer Commanding Joint Helicopter Command in 2005.^[6] In 2007 he moved on again to be Chief of Staff at Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood.^[7] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[8]

In September 2009 he was made Director of Materiel (Land)^[9] and Quartermaster-General to the Forces.^[10]

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours.^[11] He is also a patron of the armed forces career management charity, Soldier On!^[12]

References

1. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46270. p. 5057. 23 April 1974. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
2. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49237. p. 752. 17 January 1983. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
3. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 54393. p. 6547. 9 May 1996. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
4. 656 Squadron
5. RUSI
6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57712. p. 9645. 26 July 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
7. Construction work is completed at Northwood Headquarters Uxbridge Gazette, 4 February 2009
8. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58729. p. 2. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59177. p. 15384. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
10. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59191. p. 16222. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
11. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60173. p. 5. 16 June 2012.
12. "Our Patrons". Soldier on!. Retrieved 7 August 2013.