David Wilson (Royal Marines officer)

Wilson joined the Royal Marines in 1969 and went on to serve in Northern Ireland in 1987.^[1] He was mentioned in despatches later that year "in recognition of distinguished service" during the deployment.^[1] He commanded the Special Boat Service,^[2] as well as being Commanding Officer of 45 Commando from 1993 and commander of 3 Commando Brigade from 1998.^[3] From December 1999 he was Chief of Staff at NATO Joint Headquarters North.^[4] He was later deployed to Kosovo, where he became co-chairman of the Kosovo Security Committee.^[2] He was the Senior British Representative to United States Central Command in Tampa, Florida, from October 2002 to October 2003^[5] (in which role he was involved in planning for the Iraq War)^[6] and became Commandant General Royal Marines in February 2004,^[3] before retiring later that year.^[7]

In retirement, Wilson became Director of a United Nations programme engaged in disarming warlords and disbanding illegal armed groups in Afghanistan.^[2]