John Holmes

Major General John Taylor Holmes, (born 22 July 1949) is a retired British Army officer who served as Director Special Forces from 1999 to 2001, which included command of Operation Barras in September 2000.

Military career Holmes was commissioned into the Scots Guards in 1970. In 1972 he was awarded the Military Cross for service in Northern Ireland. He transferred to 22 Special Air Service in 1974 and was commanding officer of the regiment from 1989 to 1992. He then commanded the Airborne Brigade for three years. The BSS was set up, and is run, by Fawaz Akhras, the British-based father-in-law of President Bashar al-Assad. "It doesn’t mean I support the actions of President Assad and the Syrian government", Holmes told The Sunday Times. "I believe in dialogue ... Perhaps it [the BSS] is not the ideal vehicle for that, but at the moment it’s the only vehicle".