• About the Army

Senior leaders

Senior military officer in ceremonial uniform with medals and gold braids walking past guards in red coats.

Chief of the General Staff

General Sir ‘Roly’ Walker was commissioned into the Irish Guards in 1993 and served with the UK’s Special Forces from 1997. He commanded the Grenadier Guards in 2009, promoting to the General Staff four years later.

General Walker took up the appointment of Chief of the General Staff in June 2024.

Biography

Army Sergeant Major

Warrant Officer (Class One) Miller joined the Royal Corps of Signals in 1999. He was Regimental Sergeant Major of 16 Air Assault Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron.

In March 2025, Warrant Officer (Class One) Miller was appointed as the Army Sergeant Major. 

Biography

Lieutenant General Simon Hamilton CBE

 

Lieutenant General M R Elviss CB MBE

Mike Elviss commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Artillery in August 1995, joining 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, and then returned to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an instructor before his initial selection for sub-unit command in 2002. He deployed to Iraq twice in 2003 in artillery and infantry roles. Attendance on the Advanced Command and Staff Course followed prior to his appointment as Chief of Staff 20th Armoured Brigade and a return to Iraq. In 2008 he returned to battery command and deployed to Afghanistan.

Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Elviss became Military Assistant to the Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 2009 and was subsequently the Military Assistant to the Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He assumed command of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery in September 2011 and commanded the Task Force Helmand Joint Fires and Targeting Group throughout Operation Herrick 18.

In March 2014 he was appointed Assistant Head Operations of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Current Commitments Team in the Operations Directorate of the Ministry of Defence. After attendance on the Higher Command and Staff Course in 2015 he returned to the Operations Directorate as Head Operations Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria.

Lt Gen Elviss commanded 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade between July 2016 and July 2018, including a year as NATO’s Very High Readiness Task Force (Land) and the Vanguard Armoured Infantry Brigade. He became a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in September 2018 prior to filling the post of Assistant Chief of Staff Field Army.

In February 2020 General Elviss became General Officer Commanding 3rd (UK) Division and was subsequently Chief of Staff (Operations) at the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters between October 2021 and February 2024.

Lieutenant General Elviss assumed command of the Field Army on 18 March 2024. The role changed to Commander Land Forces in May 2026. 

FOLLOW THE COMMANDER LAND FORCES

Lieutenant General P R Griffiths CB

Commander Standing Joint Command

Educated at Blue Coat Grammar School and commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals in 1993, Lieutenant General Paul Griffiths has served operationally in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Following several junior appointments and completion of the Advanced Command and Staff Course, he posted to the MOD Main Building as an SO1 in Army Resources and Plans. He then commanded the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division’s Signal Regiment, deploying the Unit to locations across Afghanistan. Following the command, he became an advisor to the Chief of the General Staff and then worked as his Military Assistant. On promotion to Colonel, he was a Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff in the Field Army.

He took command of 1st (United Kingdom) Signal Brigade in 2016 and completed the Higher Command and Staff Course. Following brigade command, he was assigned to his fourth tour in Whitehall. Promoted to Major General in 2021, he was appointed as Director Personnel in Army Headquarters and for this work, was made a Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. In August 2023, he became the Assistant Chief of the General Staff, where he played a leading role in guiding the Army through the Strategic Defence Review.

In June 2025, he was appointed as the Master of Signals, and in September 2025, he promoted to Lieutenant General, assuming the role of Commander Standing Joint Command.

A keen sportsman, he swam at national level, boxed for the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and his regiment, and played rugby for the Royal Corps of Signals. He enjoys diving and skiing which combine well with his love of travel.