Coward was
commissioned into the
Royal Artillery in 1974, but transferred to the
Army Air Corps in 1983. In 1995 he was deployed to the
Bosnia and was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his service there. He provided daily briefings on television from
Sarajevo during the conflict. He was appointed Director of Equipment Capability at the
Ministry of Defence in 2003, and then moved on to be
Commander Joint Helicopter Command in 2005. In 2007 he moved on again to be
Chief of Staff at
Permanent Joint Headquarters in
Northwood. He was appointed
Companion of the Order of the Bath in the
2008 Queen's Birthday Honours. In September 2009 he was made Chief of Materiel (Land) and
Quartermaster-General. He was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours. ==References==