Dickie Davis (British Army officer)

Major General Richard Roderick Davis, CB, CBE (born 2 August 1962) is a retired British Army officer[1] and author who has worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa. He is currently the Managing Director of Nant Enterprises and a Special Advisor to the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation.[2]

Richard Davis
Nickname(s)"Dickie"
Born (1962-08-02) 2 August 1962
Hampshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1983–2015
RankMajor General
Service number514841
UnitRoyal Engineers
Commands heldArmy Recruiting and Training
22 Engineer Regiment
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service
Bronze Star Medal (United States)
De Fleury Medal (United States)

Military career

Educated at Bloxham School, Davis studied for a degree in civil engineering at the Royal Military College of Science before attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and being commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1984. Following service as a junior officer he attended the Army Staff Course gaining an MSc in Defence Technology. He served as commanding officer of 22 Engineer Regiment in which role he was deployed to Kosovo and subsequently to West Yorkshire to provide firefighting cover as part of Operation Fresco.[3] In June 2003 he set up and led the first UK Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan. The team established a ceasefire between the rival warlords Atta Muhammad Nur and General Abdul Rashid Dostum and started a disarmament process.[4] Davis subsequently returned to Afghanistan as the ISAF Chief Engineer between 2006 and 2007, and again as Chief of Staff, Regional Command South (Kandahar) between 2009 and 2010. Davis commanded the Army Recruiting and Training Division from 2011 until 2013. His final military appointment was Director General Personnel from which he retired in 2015.[5][6][7]

Davis retains a number of Honorary appointments. He is a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers and Honorary Colonel of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia).[8]

Works

Davis has taken to writing in his retirement. His works include:

  • Mills, Greg; Herbst, Jeffrey; Obasanjo, Olusegun; Davis, Dickie (2017). Making Africa Work: A Handbook. C Hurst. ISBN 978-1849048736.
  • Mills, Greg; Kilcullen, David; Davis, Dickie; Spencer, David (2016). A Great Perhaps? Colombia: Conflict and Convergence. C. Hurst. ISBN 978-1849046282.
  • Kerr, Alexandra; Miklaucic, Michael (2017). Effective, Legitimate, Secure: Insights for Defense Institution Building. Journal for Complex Operations. (contributor)

References
  1. "New Year's Honours lists 2015" (PDF). gov.uk. Cabinet Office and Foreign Office. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. "The Brenthurst Foundation". Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  3. "We are here to save lives, says Army chief". Yorkshire Evening Post. 14 November 2002. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  4. Smith, Michael (4 December 2003). "Afghan warlord agrees to disarm in peace deal with British colonel". Telegraph. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  5. "Williams, Norman Stanley". Who's Who. Vol. 1920–2015 (April 2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 31 December 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. "Director-General, Army Recruiting and Training". reference.data.gov.uk. HM Government. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  7. Mackie, Colin (27 December 2014). "Gulabin – Army Commands, 1900–2014" (PDF). Colin Mackie's website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  8. "Letter from Army Headquarters" (PDF). Retrieved 1 March 2018.
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