Deputy Commander

LIEUTENANT GENERAL LUIS LANCHARES DÁVILA

Deputy Commander

LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHN MEAD

Lieutenant General John Mead was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1991, with regimental duty in 29 Commando Regiment, 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (3 RHA) and 7 Para RHA. Staff appointments included Joint Planning roles in the UK’s Joint Forces HQ and in HQ ISAF Joint Command, as well as three postings to Army HQ in the Strategy and Personnel directorates. He attended Staff College in Australia in 2004.

Lieutenant General Mead commanded the 1st Artillery Brigade, was Chief of Staff of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and DCOS Plans, Joint Forces Command Naples. He assumed his current role as DCOM JFC Brunssum in December 2024.

He has seen operational service in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, where he deployed five times. He deployed on Operation Highbrow to evacuate UK nationals from Lebanon in 2006 and led NATO’s task force to evacuate NATO Afghan employees on Operation Allied Solace in 2021.

He is married to Annabel, and they have two sons and a daughter. A wildlife enthusiast in his spare time, he is also an Army level triathlete and regularly competes in Ironman races.