Nick Carter (British Army officer)

Lieutenant General Nicholas Patrick "Nick" Carter, CBE, DSO is a senior British Army officer.

Military career
Carter was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets as second lieutenant on 8 April 1978, initially holding a short service commission. He was promoted lieutenant on 8 April 1980, switched to a full career commission in 1982, promoted captain on 8 October 1984, and major on 30 September 1991. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1996 New Year Honours.

Carter was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 30 June 1996. In 1998 he was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in which role he was deployed to Bosnia in 1998 and Kosovo in 1999. For his service in Bosnia, he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service on 7 May 1999. In Kosovo, Carter commanded a group of peacekeepers on a bridge over the River Ibar at Mačvanska Mitrovica where he was tasked with keeping apart thousands of Serbs and Albanians gathered either side of the bridge. Carter later described the role as being the "meat in the sandwich". He was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 3 November 2000.

High command
Carter was promoted to colonel on 31 December 2000 (with seniority from 30 June), and to Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 29 April 2003, following service in the War in Afghanistan. He was promoted brigadier on 31 December 2003 (with seniority from 30 June), and in 2004 he was given command of 20th Armoured Brigade, commanding British forces in Basra, at one point stating that British forces could be in Iraq for "as long as a decade". On 7 September 2004 he was awarded a further Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service for his service in Iraq.

In 2006 he became Director of Army Resources and Plans at the Ministry of Defence. In 2007 he was given the honorary appointment of Deputy Colonel of The Rifles, (the successor regiment to the Royal Green Jackets) and held this post until 1 November 2009. On 23 January 2009 he was promoted major general and became General Officer Commanding 6th Division which has been deployed to Afghanistan with Carter appointed as Commander ISAF Regional Command South. In September 2009, referring to the efforts of UK and NATO forces, Carter said that "time was not on our side". Carter returned to the UK in November 2010 after a year deployed. Upon his return, he gave an interview in which he warned that "the insurgency is resilient, and alive and well". In 2011 he became Director-General Land Warfare in the rank of Lieutenant General. In March 2011 he was awarded the DSO. He became Deputy Commander Land Forces in January 2012. Carter is the current architect of the future organised British Army, who reported on his recommendations in April 2012.

Carter assumed the post of Deputy Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), under the command of American general, John R. Allen, in September 2012. He handed over his ISAF command to Lieutenant General John Lorimer in July 2013. He is expected to succeed Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Bradshaw as Commander Land Forces in November 2013.