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Major General John Mead was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1991, first as a Troop Commander with 29 Commando Regiment, which included a memorable tour of Belize. He then served with armoured forces as part of 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (3 RHA), serving in Bosnia and Kosovo. As an Aviation Battery Commander (BC) in 7 Para RHA, he deployed to Iraq in 2003.

He was fortunate to attend the Advanced Command and Staff College in Australia in 2004, where he received a Master's Degree in Management and Defence Studies from Canberra University. He then returned to 7 Para RHA for a second BC's tour, this time with 2 PARA in Sangin, Afghanistan during 2008.

As Commanding Officer of 3 RHA in Germany he had the privilege of commanding on operations during his fifth tour of Afghanistan in 2014. He commanded 1 st Artillery Brigade from 2016 in support of 3rd UK Division.

Staff appointments have included Joint Planning roles as a Major in Joint Forces Ha and as a Lt Col in HQ ISAF Joint Command. Three postings to Army Ha were as S01 Command Plans, Assistant Head Organisation and, from 2018, Head Personnel Strategy. He was the Chief of Staff Allied Rapid Reaction Corps from August 2019 until June 2021 when he assumed the post of DCOS Plans, JFC Naples.

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 currently preoccupied with Ironman races.