Major General Francis Hedley Roberton "Buster" Howes, (born 22 March 1960) is a former

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from February 2010 to December 2011.

Early life

Howes was educated at Christ's Hospital, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, West Sussex. He studied chemistry at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. He completed a Master of Arts degree in strategic studies at the University of London.'HOWES, Maj. Gen. Francis Hedley Roberton, (Buster)', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 22 June 2017
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Military career

Howes was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1982.Royal Navy: Major General Buster Howes OBE
/ref> He became a troop commander in

42 Commando 42 Commando (42 Cdo) (pronounced as Four-Two Commando) is a subordinate unit within the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade. Based at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth, personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations or training. ...

and had his first posting to Northern Ireland. After training as a Mountain Leader, he transferred to

45 Commando 45 Commando Royal Marines (pronounced "four-five commando") is a battalion sized unit of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of th ...

. He served in the Gulf War while on secondment to the United States Marine Corps. He served as a planner in the Rapid Reaction Force Operations Staff of United Nations Protection Force during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

in 1995. Howes led

during the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, for which he was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

. He became Chief Joint Coordination and Effects in Headquarters ISAF in Afghanistan in 2007, and Director of Naval Staff later that year. He went on to be commander of

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

in April 2008, Head of Overseas Operations in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in 2009 and Commandant General Royal Marines in February 2010. He was Head of the British Defence Staff – US and Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. from 2011 to 2015, and was appointed an

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in the

2013 Birthday Honours The 2013 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

Later career

In June 2020, Howes was appointed Chief Executive of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo after having served as a non-executive director of the organisation since 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howes, Buster 1960 births Living people Military personnel from Newcastle upon Tyne Royal Marines generals British military attachés People educated at Christ's Hospital Alumni of the University of York Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Royal Navy personnel of the Gulf War Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War Companions of the Order of the Bath