The Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff is a senior British military officer who reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff and Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.

Early Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staff

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These were:[1]

Note: This single "Deputy Chief" role was redesignated Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff after 1964.[1]

Current arrangements

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There are currently three people with the post of Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (DCDS) at any one time. These are:[2]

  • Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations)
  • Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Capability)
  • Chief of Defence People

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations)

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In 1989–91, the Defence Operations Executive, led by the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) and including the Assistant Chiefs of the Naval, General, and Air Staffs, supervised the Joint Operations Centre which in turn passed orders to the forces in Cyprus, Belize, the Falklands, and Hong Kong. These commands consisted of units of all three services and were commanded by one or 2-star rank flag officers.[3] Commander British Forces (CBF) British Forces Cyprus was a rotational post between the Army and RAF, at two-star level; CBF British Forces Belize was an Army brigadier; CBF Falklands was a rotational post between all three services at two-star level; and CBF Hong Kong was an Army major general.

These were:[1]
Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments)

Current title: Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations)

Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Personnel and Training) / Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staff (People) / Chief of Defence People

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These were:[1]
Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Programmes and Personnel)

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel)

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel and Training)

The post was then re-designated as the Chief of Defence Personnel and later renamed as the Chief of Defence People.

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Financial and Military Capability)

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These were:[1]
Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operational Requirements)

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Systems)

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Equipment Capability)

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Systems)

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Equipment Capability)

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Capability)

Current title: Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Financial and Military Capability)

Discontinued arrangements

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Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Intelligence)

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(post discontinued in 1984; taken over by Chief of Defence Intelligence)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "V: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND TRI-SERVICE SENIOR APPOINTMENTS" (PDF). Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. ^ "How Defence Works" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. 14 December 2015.
  3. ^ Antony Beevor, Inside the British Army, Corgi Books, 1990, 186-7.
  4. ^ "No. 63325". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 April 2021. p. 7239.