Assistant Commanding General - Combined Training Advisory Group - Army (CTAG-A)
David Paterson was commissioned into The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1984. As a young officer, he served as a platoon commander, the Mortar Officer, Operations Officer and Adjutant. He had tours in UK, Norway and Northern Ireland and completed a 6-month assignment in Kenya, training the Kenyan Police in minor tactics and patrolling skills.
He attended the Army Staff College in 1992 and was then posted to the Headquarters of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps as the Plans and Policy lead for the development of the COMARRC’s plan for NATO operations in Bosnia. He assumed command of Z Company in the First Battalion as part of the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia. His tour also included service in the UK and a further operational tour in Londonderry.
Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1998, he was posted to the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham as the Directing Staff responsible for surveillance. He assumed command of the First Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in February 2000 in Celle in Germany, an Armoured Infantry Battalion. The First Fusiliers deployed as the Lead Armoured Battlegroup to Kuwait in February 2003 and were actively involved in the 7th Armoured Brigade operations in southern Iraq during the war to liberate Iraq.
He was awarded the OBE in the TELIC 1 Operational Honours List and was promoted to Colonel to assume command of the Land Warfare Collective Training Group (Germany) in October 2003 where he was responsible for training the Divisional Headquarters, Brigade Headquarters and units of the 1st UK Armoured Division. In March 2006 he became Assistant Director Land Concepts in the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre based at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham where he was responsible for the development of Land Environment concepts to shape the development of UK land forces out to 2025.
Promoted to Brigadier in 2007, he was appointed as Deputy Commander London District, a Regional Brigade Command with responsibility for the regular, reserve and cadet forces in the London area. He assumed his current position as Comd CTAG(A) in Jun 2010.
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) is an order given generously for services to the Empire in England, India and in the Dominions and colonies. The order was created mainly to award non-combatant services during WWI and included women, whom most existing orders excluded. When the order was created in 1917 it had only one division, but was divided into Civil and Military divisions in 1918. The order at any level can be awarded for gallantry as well as for service.
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (RRF) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.
David Paterson is married to Fiona; they have a home in Herefordshire and 3 children at school in the Malvern area. Particular interests include field sports and skiing; both the uphill and downhill varieties.
