Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

John Cooper, (born 17 February 1955) is a former senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. From March 2008 he was the Deputy Commander of Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the operational-level headquarters in Iraq, and the Senior British Military Representative-Iraq. As Deputy Commander, he was the principal assistant to General

Raymond T. Odierno Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odiern ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He stepped down on 4 March 2009, and retired from the army later that year.

Early life and career

Cooper was born on 17 February 1955 in

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

. Educated at Berwick Grammar School, he then went to

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, and was commissioned into the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

(KOSB) as a second lieutenant on 8 March 1975. He initially served in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, Britain and Germany, he was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 8 March 1977, and captain on 8 September 1981. In the early 1980s he served two tours with a British Army advisory and training team in Zimbabwe before attending Staff College, Camberley in 1987. He was promoted major on 30 September 1987, and after graduation from the staff course, he was appointed Chief of Staff, 8th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland 1988–89, for which he was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) on 6 November 1990. He then commanded a rifle company in 1st Battalion, KOSB (1KOSB), including active service in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. He was promoted lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1994, and commanded 1KOSB for a further tour in Northern Ireland, for which he was appointed to the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO), as well as tours in Edinburgh and Lancashire. He then served as an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley, and at the

Joint Services Command and Staff College Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving offic ...

Higher command

In November 1997, Cooper was appointed to a high staff position as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G3 (O&D) in HQ LAND, where he had responsibility for implementing recommendations arising from the

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of ...

. He attended the

Higher Command and Staff Course The Higher Command and Staff Course is a staff course for senior military officers of the United Kingdom armed forces and allies. It is taught at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The course is ...

in 1998, and was promoted

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

on 30 June 1998. He was officially promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

on 31 December 1999, with seniority from 30 June 1999, having taken command of the

12th Mechanised Brigade 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

in November 1999. The brigade deployed to Bosnia in 2000. He was appointed to the honorary position of KOSB's Colonel of the Regiment on 9 February 2001 and held that post until the regiment was disbanded with its merger into the

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (formerly five) and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an indiv ...

on 28 March 2006, when he became a Deputy Colonel of the new regiment. He was appointed the Chief of the Defence Staff's

liaison officer A Liaison officer is a person who liaises between two or more organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities on a matter of mutual concern. Generally, liaison officers are used for achieving the best utilization of resources, or empl ...

to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the

Pentagon (United States) The Pentagon is the Headquarters (military), headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military, the ...

in Washington DC in 2002. He then assumed the appointment of Chief of Staff, Field Army, HQ Land Command. Upon promotion to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

on 7 May 2004, Cooper became Deputy Commander Combined Forces Command (

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

) until December 2004. He was awarded the US Bronze Star Medal for his service in Afghanistan. When he departed Afghanistan, he took command of

1st (UK) Armoured Division The 1st (United Kingdom) Division, formerly known as the 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division and the 1st Division, is a division of the British Army. Divisional history (1809–1959) The 1st Division was formed following the disbandment o ...

on 25 January 2005, taking elements of that division to Iraq where it formed HQ

Multi-National Division (South-East) Multi-National Division may refer to: Bosnia *Multi-National Division (North) (Bosnia) (c.1996-1999) * Multi-National Division (South-East) (c.1996-1999) *Multi-National Division (South-West) (Bosnia) (c.1996-1999) Iraq *Multi-National Division - B ...

. He returned to England for two years of senior leadership positions before his promotion to lieutenant general and return to Iraq on 23 March 2008 to become Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq. He stepped down from the post on 4 March 2009. In an interview on 3 March 2009 he expressed his belief that the struggle against Al Qaida in Iraq had been won, and that the country was getting back on its feet. Cooper was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2009 Birthday Honours. He retired from the army on 21 November 2009.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, John 1955 births Living people Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from Northumberland King's Own Scottish Borderers officers British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the Iraq War British military leaders of the Iraq War People from Berwick-upon-Tweed Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Members of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of the Gulf War British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)