I am thrilled and honoured to have joined Exeter College, becoming the College’s 131st Rector.
Much of my professional career has been centred on the defence and security sector, with a particular focus, during recent years, on higher education management. In a wide-ranging 33-year career, I have been privileged to lead at multiple levels, often under challenging conditions, dealing with pressing, fast-paced and complex issues, and worked in Kenya, Oman, Northern Ireland, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, USA, Cyprus, Iraq and Afghanistan.
I have worked hard to invest in multiple educational opportunities, at home and abroad, becoming a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff Course, the School of Advanced Military Studies and the highly competitive Higher Command and Staff Course. I completed a doctorate at King’s College, London and authored two books and numerous articles. Before coming to Exeter College, I was the Chief Executive and Commandant (akin to a vice-chancellor) of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, responsible for over 41,000 students and 300 educational courses per annum, delivered across a wide array of disciplines. In this role, I was responsible for leading the academic, research, student support and business delivery of multiple colleges, schools and technical centres across the United Kingdom.
Research interests
From a macro perspective, I recently helped establish the much-needed Centre for Defence Education and Research at the Defence Academy and funded the Economic Conflict and Competition Research Group – both new and important initiatives that are already bearing fruit, delivering impactful research and making a significant contribution to knowledge and wider society.
On a micro level, I continue to research, write and lecture on Waziristan, a remote district of Pakistan, populated by fiercely independent tribes who owe allegiances to no one and unite only to repel invaders or wage jihad. My next book aims to look in detail at several tribal leaders, including the infamous Fakir of Ipi, who waged guerrilla warfare against colonial interreference and evaded the 40,000 troops sent to capture him.
Wider interests
When I am not working you will often see me with my wife, Pippa, taking our spaniel, Mungo, for walks. I enjoy game fishing and have fished extensively in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as North America and the Falkland Islands. I also enjoy travel and reading about Indian history pre-1947, particularly regarding the North-West Frontier Province.
Selected publications
Books
- The Fakir of Ipi, the ‘Mad Mullah’ and the Shami Pir (book in progress).
- From Fabric Wings to Supersonic Fighters and Drones: A History of Military Aviation on Both Sides of the North-West Frontier (London: Helion & Company, 2015).
- Waging War in Waziristan: The British Struggle in the Land of Bin Laden, 1849-1947 (USA: University Press of Kansas, 2010).
Articles
- ‘High Flying Agents and Mystical Technology: Air Power, Bush Warfare and the Nuers, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 1927-28’, Air Power Review, Spring 2019, Volume 22, Number 1.
- ‘Air Power in British Somaliland, 1920: The Arrival of Gordon’s Birdmen, Independent Operations and Unearthly Retributions’, Air Power Review, Spring 2018, Volume 21, Number 1.
- ‘Air Power in Darfur, 1916: The Hunt for Sultan Ali Dinar and the Menace of the Fur Army’, Air Power Review, Spring 2017, Volume 20, Number 1.
- ‘Flying in The Blazing Sun: Air Control, District Intelligence Officers and Mixed Results,’ British Army Review, Winter 2013/14, Number 159.
- ‘A Really Busy War: Captain John Hamilton’s Heroic Activities in the South Atlantic, 1982.’ The Green Howard, October 2013, Issue 15.
- ‘Early ‘Winged’ Green Howards: A Rewarding but Often Hazardous Secondment,’ The Green Howard, April 2013, Issue 14.
- ‘The Troublesome 1930s: General Unrest, Intense Activity and Close Cooperation,’ Air Power Review, Summer 2013, Volume 16, Number 2.
- “Bugsplat’ and Fallible Humans: The High-Tech U.S. Drone Campaign Over North-West Pakistan,’ Air Power Review, Summer 2012, Volume 15, Number 2.
- ‘Evacuation by Air: The All-But-Forgotten Kabul Airlift of 1928-29,’ Air Power Review, Spring 2012, Volume 15, Number 1.
- ‘“Good God, Sir, Are You Hurt?” The Realities and Perils of Operating Over India’s Troublesome North-West Frontier,’ Air Power Review, Autumn/Winter 2011, Volume 14, Number 3.
- ‘Aviation and Guerrilla War: Proposals for ‘Air Control’ on the North-West Frontier of India,’ Air Power Review, Spring 2011, Volume 14, Number 1.
- ‘What Waziristan Means for Afghanistan,’ Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2011, Volume 18, Number 1.
- “Pink’s War’ – Applying the Principles of Air Control to Waziristan, 9 March to 1 May 1925,’ Air Power Review, Autumn/Winter 2008, Volume 13, Number 3.
- ‘Friends in High Places: Air Power on the North-West Frontier of India,’ Air Power Review, Summer 2008, Volume 11, Number 2.
- ‘The Evolution of a Revolt: The Insightful Musings of an Unconventional British Guerrilla,’ British Army Review, Summer 2007, Number 142.
- ‘There’s More to Coalition Life than Strategy and Tactics: Systemic Innovation at the Operational Level of War,’ British Army Review, Spring 2006, Number 139.
- ‘To Create a Stable Afghanistan: Provisional Reconstruction Teams, Good Governance, and a Splash of History,’ [U.S.] Military Review, November-December 2005, Volume 85, Number 6.
Recreational articles published
- ‘Making Fishers of Officers,’ The Field, July 2015.
- ‘Sea Trout at World’s End,’ Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, September 2013.
