{{Short description|British Army officer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{similar names|Thomas Beckett (disambiguation){{!}}Thomas Beckett}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = Lieutenant General |name= Sir Tom Beckett |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|CBE}} |image= |image_size= |alt= |caption= |nickname= |birth_date= {{birth year and age|1962}} |birth_place= Bahrain |death_date= |death_place= |burial_place= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= British Army |service_years= 1984–2018 |rank= Lieutenant General |service_number= |unit= |commands= 20th Armoured Brigade<br/>1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment |battles= {{plain list| * Gulf War * Sierra Leone Civil War * Iraq War * War in Afghanistan}} |awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath<br/>Commander of the Order of the British Empire |relations= |other_work= }} Lieutenant General '''Sir Thomas Anthony Beckett''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|KCB|CBE}} (born 1962) is a former British Army officer. He served as Chief of Staff for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
==Early life and education== Beckett was born in 1962 in Bahrain.<ref name="WW 22" /> He was educated at Blackrock College, an all-boys Catholic school in Dublin, Ireland.<ref name="WW 22" /><ref>[http://www.military.ie/reserve/news-events/single-view/article/sunday-17th-march-2013-436-irish-troops-will-celebrate-st-patricks-day/?cHash=f0824d97e426586ddd15e2013cdf6d02 Irish troops will celebrate St Patrick's Day] Defence Forces Ireland</ref> During his army career, he studied at Cranfield University: he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in military studies in 1994 and a Master of Science degree in global security in 2002.<ref name="WW 22" />
==Military career== Beckett was commissioned into the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars in 1984.<ref name=bio>[http://www.nato.int/nrdc-it/docu/brochure/brochure2010.pdf Deputy commander NRDC-ITA – 9] NATO Biography</ref> After serving in the Gulf War in 1991 and Sierra Leone Civil War in 2001, he became commanding officer of 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment in 2002 in which role he was deployed for the Invasion of Iraq in 2003.<ref name=bio/>
Beckett became deputy director, Higher Command and Staff Course in 2005, commander of the 20th Armoured Brigade in 2007 (in which role he was again deployed to Iraq) and Director Commitments at Headquarters Land Forces in 2009.<ref name=bio/> He went on to be Deputy Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Italian Corps in July 2010 in which role was deployed as chief of staff for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.<ref name=bio/> Beckett became Defence Senior Advisor Middle East at the Ministry of Defence with the rank of lieutenant general in late 2014.<ref>[https://www.thetimes.com/article/service-appointments-army-glqb6bkvpqg Service appointments] The Times, 1 February 2014</ref> In the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.<ref name="LG 62310">{{London Gazette |issue= 62310 |date= 9 June 2018 |page= B3 |supp= y }}</ref>
Beckett retired from the British Army in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.optimagroup.co/who/sir-tom-beckett|title=Sir Tom Beckett|website=optimagroup.co|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref> He held the position as Regimental Colonel of the Queen′s Royal Hussars from 2014 to 2023.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=64276|date=2 January 2024 |page=26494|supp=y}}</ref>
==Later career== Since 2018, Beckett has been executive director of International Institute for Strategic Studies – Middle East.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Tom Beckett |url=https://www.iiss.org/people/directing-staff/tom-beckett |website=IISS |access-date=4 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="WW 22">{{cite web |title=Beckett, Lt Gen. Sir Thomas (Anthony) |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251690 |website=Who's Who 2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=4 April 2022 |date=1 December 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Tom}} Category:1962 births Category:British Army lieutenant generals Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Living people Category:NATO military personnel Category:Queen's Royal Irish Hussars officers Category:British Parachute Regiment officers Category:British Army personnel of the Iraq War Category:British Army personnel of the Gulf War Category:British military personnel of the Sierra Leone Civil War Category:British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Category:People educated at Blackrock College Category:Alumni of Cranfield University