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Sharon Nesmith

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British Army officer (born 1970)

General
Dame Sharon Nesmith
DCB ADC Gen
General Nesmith in 2024
Birth nameSharon Patricia Moffat
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Northumberland, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1988–present
RankGeneral
CommandsArmy Recruiting and Initial Training Command
1st Signal Brigade
22nd Signal Regiment
Battles / warsUnited Nations Protection Force
Iraq War
AwardsDame Commander of the Order of the Bath

General Dame Sharon Patricia Moffat Nesmith, DCB, ADC Gen (née Moffat; born 1970) is a senior British Army officer. She has been Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff since June 2024, having served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff from August 2022 to May 2024. She became the first woman to command a British Army brigade in 2014, the first woman to command a British division-level formation in 2021, the first woman to be promoted to lieutenant general in the British Army in 2022 and the first to be promoted to general in 2024.

Personal life

Nesmith is from Northumberland. Her father was an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve, and her brother served in the British Army for 16 years. She studied biological sciences at the University of Edinburgh. She was sponsored through university by the British Army, having been awarded a university cadetship.

Nesmith's husband, Walker, works as a tree surgeon. She has two sons.

Military career

Major General Sharon Nesmith attending the Army Board in 2019

Nesmith was commissioned in the Women's Royal Army Corps of the British Army as a second lieutenant (on probation) on 4 September 1988 as part of her university cadetship. Following university and Sandhurst, she joined the Royal Corps of Signals in 1992. She has served in the Balkans, Iraq and Latvia. She was promoted to colonel on 30 June 2012.

In August 2014, Nesmith became the first woman to command a British Army brigade when she was chosen to command the 1st Signal Brigade. She was promoted to brigadier on 30 June 2015. Her role was formally announced by Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon in September 2015, almost a year after she started in the role. The brigade consisted of between 1,500 and 5,000 troops. This was the highest role ever taken by a woman in the British Army.

Nesmith was a Colonel Commandant of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers from 1 November 2018 to 1 November 2023.

General officer

On 8 March 2019, The Times reported that Nesmith was to be appointed as Director (Personnel) at Army Headquarters and would sit on the Army Board. She assumed the appointment on 14 March 2019 and was promoted to major general. On 15 March 2019, she was appointed to the honorary position of Assistant Colonel Commandant of the Adjutant General's Corps; she relinquished the appointment on 6 November 2019. On 1 August 2019, she was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Corps of Signals. She was appointed Master of Signals on 1 October 2020, succeeding Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope. She became General Officer Commanding of Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command in January 2021.

Nesmith was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff on 11 August 2022, becoming the first woman to hold lieutenant general rank in the British Army. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB) in the 2024 New Year Honours, and thereby granted the title dame.

In May 2024, it was announced that Nesmith would be appointed the next Vice-Chief of Defence Staff in succession to Gwyn Jenkins, and would thus become the first woman to hold the rank of general in the British Army and therefore the highest-ranked female officer in British history. On 10 June 2024, she took up the appointment, was promoted to general, and was made an aide-de-camp general (ADC Gen) to King Charles III.

Interests

Nesmith has been a vice-president of the Army Football Association.

References

  1. ^ "The most powerful woman in the British Army: I've spent my entire career avoiding the 'female' tag". The Daily Telegraph. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. ^ "No. 51510". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 October 1988. p. 11916.
  3. ^ Haynes, Deborah (2 July 2015). "Army puts first woman in charge of a brigade". The Times. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  4. ^ Grant, Katie (2015). "Meet the first woman in charge of a brigade in the British army". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  5. "No. 60197". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 2012. p. 12690.
  6. ^ "No. 61280". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 2015. p. 11900.
  7. "No. 62486". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 December 2018. p. 21992.
  8. "No. 64307". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 February 2024. p. 2283.
  9. "Major-General Sharon Nesmith: Men used to run the army ... now I give the orders". The Times. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  10. "No. 62610". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 April 2019. p. 6432.
  11. "No. 62635". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 May 2019. p. 8122.
  12. "No. 63300". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 March 2021. p. 5506.
  13. "No. 62756". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 2019. p. 15696.
  14. "No. 63131". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 October 2020. p. 16833.
  15. @R_Signals (1 October 2020). "We are excited to confirm that we have a new Master of Signals! General Sharon Nesmith formally took over today from General Pope. Although without ceremony due to #COVID19 restrictions we would like to wish her all the very best as our new Master of Signals. Certa Cito" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. "First Female Army Officer To Command At Two-Star Level Appointed". Forces.net. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  17. @BritishArmy (4 April 2022). "Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed the appointment of Major General Sharon Nesmith as the next Deputy Chief of the General Staff, in the rank of Lieutenant General. She will begin her new appointment in August 2022. Read more: https://army.mod.uk/news-and-event..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. "Major General Sharon Nesmith appointed as the Army's next Deputy Chief of the General Staff". www.army.mod.uk. 4 April 2022.
  19. "Lieutenant General Sharon Nesmith becomes Deputy Chief of the General Staff". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  20. "No. 63787". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 August 2022. p. 15558.
  21. "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N2.
  22. "General Dame Sharon Nesmith DCB ADC (Gen) to be appointed as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff". GOV.uk. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  23. "No. 64459". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 July 2024. p. 13738.
  24. "Board and Staff". Army Football Association. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
Military offices
Preceded byPaul Nanson GOC Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command
2021–2022 		Succeeded byThomas Bewick
Preceded byChristopher Tickell Deputy Chief of the General Staff
2022–2024 		Succeeded byDavid Eastman
Preceded byGwyn Jenkins Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff
2024–present 		Incumbent
Vice Chiefs of the Defence Staff
United Kingdom Chiefs of Staff Committee
Seal of the Defence Staff
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