John Ridge (British Army officer)

John Ridge
Brigadier Ridge in 2019
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1995–2020
RankBrigadier
Commands26 Engineer Regiment
8 Engineer Brigade
Battles / warsWar in Afghanistan
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire

Brigadier John Henry Ridge CBE is a British civil servant and former senior British Army officer.

Military career

Ridge was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1995.[1] He served as commanding officer of 26 Engineer Regiment in which role he was deployed to Afghanistan.[2] He went on to become commander of 8 Engineer Brigade in October 2015 and in that role led the British response to Hurricane Irma, an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path, in September 2017.[3] He went on to become Chief, Joint Force Operations at Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood in September 2017.[4] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours.[5]

He was to be promoted to major general and appointed General Officer Commanding of Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command in April 2020.[6] However, he retired from the British Army on 25 April 2020,[7] and joined the Civil Service.[8] As of July 2022, he is Director of Defence Innovation at the Ministry of Defence.[9]

References

  1. ^ "The Evolving Role of the Military during non-discretionary National Crises". Royal United Services Institute. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  2. ^ "26 Engineer Regiment receive Afghanistan operational medals". Ministry of Defence. 8 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. ^ "The British Officer Leading The Hurricane Irma Response Has Defended The Relief Effort". Buzzfeed. 19 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Ministry of Defence and Senior Tri-Service Appointments" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  5. ^ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N6.
  6. ^ "Current generals" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  7. ^ "No. 63131". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 October 2020. p. 16832.
  8. ^ "John Ridge CBE". DSEI 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Military logistics are more difficult and dangerous than ever. Can tech help?". Wired. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.