Brunssum, The Netherlands – On 3 Dec, Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) conducted an official ceremony to say farewell to the Deputy Commander, Lieutenant General Stuart Skeates, British Army, upon his retirement.
Lieutenant General Skeates has conducted a long and successful career. He has commanded the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery and the 19th Light Brigade in Northern Ireland. He has been Deputy Commander of 52 Brigade in Task Force Helmand/Afghanistan; Deputy Commanding General of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); Regional Commander (South-West) and Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Most recently, he was the UK's Standing Joint Force Commander.
Lieutenant General Skeates has served on operations all around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Cyprus and Northern Ireland. He is a graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course, the Higher Command and Staff Course and the Major Projects Leadership Academy.
General Jörg Vollmer thanked Lieutenant General Skeates for his dedication and achievements during his tour at JFCBS. He commended the outstanding work that he has completed throughout his time as the Deputy Commander, wishing him all the best for the future.
General Vollmer extended a warm welcome to the new deputy, Lieutenant General Luis Lanchares Davila, Spanish Army.
Lieutenant General Lanchares joined the Officers Military Academy in 1980, and was commissioned, as an Infantry Lieutenant, in 1985.
Throughout his career Lieutenant General Lanchares has served in numerous UN and NATO operations: UNAVEM II (Angola) as a Team Leader and Operations officer in the Mission HQ in Luanda; UNIFIL (Lebanon) as the Chief of Staff of Multinational Brigade East; KFOR (Kosovo) as Deputy Chief Plans of the Multinational Brigade West, in Pec, and ISAF (Afghanistan) as the Plans Chief in the Regional Command West, in Herat.
Before being assigned to his new post, Lieutenant General Lanchares was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Enablement in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, in Belgium.
