Mike Jackson

General Sir Michael "Mike" Jackson, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC Gen (born 21 March 1944) is a British army officer, currently Chief of the General Staff. He was formerly commander of KFor in Kosovo as well as UNPROFOR (see Timeline of UN peacekeeping missions) commander in Bosnia.

Related Topics:
GCB - CBE - DSO - ADC Gen - 21 March - 1944 - British - Army - Chief of the General Staff - KFor - Kosovo - UNPROFOR - Timeline of UN peacekeeping missions - Bosnia

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Jackson's father was in the army. Jackson was a cadet at Stamford School CCF, in 1961 he went to Birmingham University. Jackson was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps aged 19 in 1963, specialising in the threat from the Soviet Union. He transferred to the Parachute Regiment in 1970 and served in Northern Ireland,he spent two years as Chief of Staff of the Berlin Infantry Brigde, then commanding a parachute compnay in Northern Ireland, later rising to become the commanding officer of 1 Para from March 1984 to September 1986.

Related Topics:
Stamford School - CCF - Birmingham University - Intelligence Corps - 1963 - Soviet Union - Parachute Regiment - 1970 - Northern Ireland - Commanding officer - 1984 - 1986

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In the 1990s, Jackson served in the NATO chain of command as a deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Wesley Clark. In this capacity, he is best known for refusing to block the runways of the Russian-occupied Pristina Airport, to isolate the Russian troops there. Had he complied with General Clark's order, there was a chance the British troops under his command could have come into armed conflict with the Russians; doing this without prior orders from Britain would have led to his dismissal for gross insubordination. On the other hand, defying Clark would have meant disobeying a direct order from a superior NATO officer (Clark was a four-star general; Jackson only a three-star). Jackson ultimately chose the latter course of action, reputedly saying "I won´t start World War III for you!", though the point became irrelevant when the American government prevailed upon the Hungarians, Romanians, and Bulgarians to prevent the Russians from using their airspace to fly reinforcements in. As a result, he was dubbed "Macho Jacko" by the British tabloid press. Among his own troops and the British press, however, Jackson had a reputation for being gaunt, severe, and prone to anger, earning him the nicknames "Darth Vader" and "Prince of Darkness". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/kosovo/369068.stm

Related Topics:
1990s - NATO - Chain of command - Supreme Allied Commander Europe - General Wesley Clark - Russia - Pristina - American - Hungarian - Romania - Bulgaria - Darth Vader - Prince of Darkness

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During the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq War, Jackson, as Chief of the General Staff, ordered an inquiry into pictures released by the British tabloid The Daily Mirror that depicted alleged torture of Iraqi prisoners by British soldiers. The Daily Mirrors editor Piers Morgan was later fired by the newspaper, after the pictures were shown to be a hoax.

Related Topics:
2003 Iraq War - Chief of the General Staff - The Daily Mirror - Torture - Iraq - Piers Morgan

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On February 23 2005, soldiers of 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, were found guilty of abuse of Iraqi prisoners arrested for looting at an army camp called Bread Basket, in Basra, during May of 2003. After they were sentenced General Jackson, made a statement on television and said that: he was "appalled and disappointed" when he first saw photographs of the Iraqi detainees and that

Related Topics:
February 23 - 2005 - The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers - Basra

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:The incidents depicted are in direct contradiction to the core values and standards of the British Army ... Nevertheless, in the light of the evidence from this trial I do apologize on behalf of the army to those Iraqis who were abused and to the people of Iraq as a whole.

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Jackson had bags under his eyes surgically removed. He refuses to be photographed in a suit, preferring military uniform instead, with the famous red beret of the Parachute Regiment.

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