Gulf War veteran commands Middle East military exercise

An ex-paratrooper with experience of leading troops in the Balkans and the Gulf War is commanding a British military exercise in the Middle East.

Lieutenant General John Reith, 52, will oversee Operation Saif Sareea (the Arabic for swift sword), which involves more than 20,000 British troops and a naval taskforce in the Gulf state of Oman.

The exercise, which was planned months before the terrorist atrocities in the United States, involves the biggest Royal Navy deployment since the Falklands conflict.

Lieutenant General Reid had achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by 1984 after steadily rising through the ranks.

He commanded troops in South Armagh in Northern Ireland, in the 1980s, and an armoured division in the 1991 Gulf War.

He was appointed an OBE for his work in Northern Ireland and was made a CBE for his part in the Gulf War.

Lieutenant General Reith also led forces in the former Republic of Yugoslavia, and later took up a post with the United Nations in the war-torn area.

In 1999, he commanded Nato-led troops in Albania, where his top priority was to concentrate on the Kosovan refugee crisis.

He was appointed assistant chief of defence staff responsible for policy the following year.

He was recently appointed chief of joint operations at the Ministry of Defence permanent joint headquarters at Northwood, north west London.

He was commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in 1969.

Lieutenant General Reith and wife June have four children.