James Hockenhull

General Sir James Richard Hockenhull (born 27 July 1964) is a former senior British Army officer who served as Commander of UK Strategic Command from 2022 to 2026.

Background and education Hockenhull was born in 1964 at Havant, Hampshire, to William Hockenhull and Jean née Philpott.

Educated at the Royal Hospital School, Ipswich, before studying Politics at the University of York (BA), he later pursued postgraduate Military Studies at Cranfield University (MA). He deployed to Northern Ireland many times during his early career, for which he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 22 November 1994, awarded a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services" in 1999, and promoted Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 30 September 2003.

Hockenhull became an Instructor at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2003 before being deployed as Chief, Campaign Plans at Headquarters Multi-National Force – Iraq in December 2005, and Director Cyber, Intelligence and Information Integration in March 2015. He was advanced as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours.

In April 2022, it was announced that Hockenhull would be promoted as general to succeed General Sir Patrick Sanders as Commander of United Kingdom Strategic Command, taking office in May 2022. He was succeeded by General Sir Robert Magowan in March 2026, when Strategic Command was changed to Cyber & Specialist Operations Command. Hockenhull formally retired from the army on 24 June 2026.

Hockenhull stated, on 13 August 2022, in an interview with the BBC: "Russia nor Ukraine is likely to achieve any decisive military action in Ukraine this year". He has defended the decision to publish the intelligence about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying "It's important to get the truth out before the lies come." UK intelligence is watching the prospect of tactical nuclear weapons being used in Ukraine "very closely"; he however considers their usage "very unlikely". He is quoted saying of China: "incredible military modernisation with a country determined to resolve a political issue".

He was Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps from 2014 to 2026, and has also been elected a Visiting Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Family In 1990 he married Karen Elizabeth Harrison; Hockenhull and his wife have two daughters.