A British Commander’s Perspective on the Global War on Terror

British Lieutenant General James Bashall graduated from Marlborough College and Sandhurst, and upon commissioning in 1984 served in the Parachute Regiment. In 2002, he commanded the 2nd Battalion of The Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan and then commanded the 1st Mechanized Brigade in Basra, Iraq, in 2007. He is currently the Commander of Personnel and Support Command. In this interview, he talks about his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and how British Soldiers were received in those locations. He discusses a Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) he conducted with the Special Air Service in Libya in 2011. He also provides his perspectives on working as part of a multi-national force, and preparing for the cultural complexities of operating in locations that have had previous British presence. Finally, he analyzes the effects of persistent conflict on British military manpower.