Richard Dannatt (born 23 December 1950) is a retired senior British Army officer who served as the Constable of the Tower of London from August 2009 to July 2016. He was commissioned into the Green Howards in 1971, and his first tour of duty was in Belfast as a platoon commander. During his second tour of duty, Dannatt was awarded the Military Cross. He commanded 4th Armoured Brigade in 1994 during its peace operations in Bosnia. In 1999 he simultaneously commanded 3rd Mechanised Division and the British forces in Kosovo. After a brief tour in Bosnia, he was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff. Following the attacks of 11 September 2001, Dannatt became involved in planning for subsequent operations in the Middle East. As Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps from 2003, he led the planning for their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was appointed Chief of the General Staff in 2006, succeeding Sir Mike Jackson. Calling for improved pay and conditions for soldiers, less military focus on Iraq, and more on Afghanistan, Dannatt faced controversy over his outspokenness.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dannatt
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
583:
Yohl Ik'nal acceded to the throne of the Maya city-state of Palenque. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yohl_Ik%27nal
1793:
French Revolution: The Royalist counterrevolutionary army was decisively defeated in the Battle of Savenay, although fighting continued in the War in the Vendée for years afterward. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_the_Vend%C3%A9e
1916:
First World War: Allied forces gained a strategic victory in the Battle of Magdhaba, located in the Sinai Peninsula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Magdhaba
1938:
A South African fisher discovered the first living specimen of a coelacanth, long believed to be extinct. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth
1986:
Piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the Rutan Voyager became the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California after a nine- day trip. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_Voyager
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
aweless: 1. Without fear; fearless, unafraid. 2. Wanting reverence; void of respectful fear; irreverent. 3. (obsolete) Inspiring no awe. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aweless
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Unless we are willing to escape into sentimentality or fantasy, often the best we can do with catastrophes, even our own, is to find out exactly what happened and restore some of the missing parts — hopefully, even the arch to the sky. --Norman Maclean https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Maclean