Tom Beckett

Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Anthony Beckett, (born 1962) is a former British Army officer. He served as Chief of Staff for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Early life and education Beckett was born in 1962 in Bahrain. During his army career, he studied at Cranfield University: he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in military studies in 1994 and a Master of Science degree in global security in 2002. After serving in the Gulf War in 1991 and Sierra Leone Civil War in 2001, he became commanding officer of 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment in 2002 in which role he was deployed for the Invasion of Iraq in 2003. In the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.

Beckett retired from the British Army in 2018. He held the position as Regimental Colonel of the Queen′s Royal Hussars from 2014 to 2023.

Later career Since 2018, Beckett has been executive director of International Institute for Strategic Studies – Middle East.