Brigadier Nigel Crewe-Read is the Deputy Commanding General, CJTF-OIR. He commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Wales in 1996, a line Infantry Regiment in the British Army, and has held multiple command and staff appointments within UK Defence, NATO, Coalition and U.S. Headquarters.
As a junior officer, he commanded platoons on operations in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and the Brigade Surveillance Platoon in Kosovo for which he was awarded an MBE. He was also ADC to the General Officer Commanding U.K. Support Command in Germany and an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
On promotion to Major, he held staff appointments in 16 (Air Assault) Brigade and the Security, Policy and Operations floor of the Ministry of Defence. He commanded C Coy, 2nd Bn, The Royal Welsh, an Armored Infantry Company based in Tidworth, U.K. This period saw three separate deployments to Helmand, Afghanistan.
His initial Lt. Col. appointment in 2013 was as the first embedded Staff Officer in AFRICOM J5 Division before being posted to Army HQ as SO1 Collective Training in the Training Directorate. He commanded 3rd Bn, The Royal Welsh, based in Cardiff, U.K. between 2015-2017 before returning to Afghanistan as Military Assistant to the UK 3* Deputy Commander of Op RESOLUTE SUPPORT. His final SO1 appointment was in HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps as the Strategy and Policy Officer.
On promotion to Colonel, he was posted to NATO's U.S.-led Joint Force Command, Naples, Italy. Responsible for planning deterrence activity against emerging threats to the Alliance, he was heavily involved in NATO’s contingency work preceding and in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for which he was subsequently awarded an OBE. On return to the U.K. in 2023, he was appointed Assistant Head Training Plans in the Army’s Land Warfare Centre where he began the implementation of generational change to the way the British Army trains.
Brigadier Crewe-Read is married to Caroline, and they have three children.