Carleton-Smith was
commissioned into the
Irish Guards on 3 September 1982, before going up to
Durham, graduating as
BA. He was promoted to
lieutenant on 6 September 1985 (with seniority from 9 April), then to
captain on 9 April 1989, and then to
major on 30 September 1995. After operational service in
Northern Ireland during
the Troubles, he was deployed to the
Gulf War in 1991, and then saw active service as an
SAS squadron commander in
Bosnia later in the 1990s. Carleton-Smith became
Chief of Staff of
19 Mechanized Brigade in 1999 and served as
Chief of Staff HQ Multi-National Brigade Centre during the
Kosovo War later that year. and then awarded the
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service on 3 November 2000. Promoted to
lieutenant colonel on 30 June 2001, Carleton-Smith became Military Assistant to the
Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces, Promoted
colonel on 30 June 2005, he became Deputy Director Policy Planning at the
Ministry of Defence at that time. Carleton-Smith became commander of
16 Air Assault Brigade that year and was deployed to Afghanistan as commander of
Task Force Helmand and commander of British Forces there in April 2008. In August 2008 he led
Operation Eagle's Summit, which involved a daring foray into
Taliban territory. He was promoted
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services in
Afghanistan on 6 March 2009. Carleton-Smith became Director of Army Plans and Resources at the
Ministry of Defence in January 2009 and, following promotion to
major general on 20 February 2012, he became
Director Special Forces. In July 2022, the BBC published a report alleging evidence that "
SAS operatives in Afghanistan repeatedly killed detainees and unarmed men in suspicious circumstances," while Carleton-Smith, then Director Special Forces, "failed to pass on evidence to [the] murder inquiry" which was being conducted by the
Royal Military Police. Appointed Director of Strategy at the
Army Headquarters in March 2015, he became
Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations) on 18 April 2016 being promoted to
lieutenant general with effect from the same date. On 11 June 2018 he was further promoted to the rank of
general, succeeding
General Sir Nick Carter as
Chief of the General Staff, being appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the
2019 New Year Honours. Succeeded as Chief of the General Staff by General
Sir Patrick Sanders in June 2022, Carleton-Smith was promoted
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the
2023 Birthday Honours. Carleton-Smith served as Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Irish Guards from 18 March 2012 for ten years, and as Honorary Colonel of
Oxford University Officers Training Corps between February 2017 and June 2022. ==Personal life==