Major General SL Porter CBE

United Kingdom Army
North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Simon Porter was commissioned into the Royal Anglian Regiment (a British infantry regiment) in 1980. Between joining his regiment and assuming command of its 2nd Battalion in 1997 he served in Belize, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cyprus, England, Germany, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland in a variety of regimental duty appointments with the Regiment's 2nd and 3rd Battalions, attended the UK Army staff college and worked in the operations staffs of both Headquarters British Forces Hong Kong and the headquarters of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC).

Following battalion command, split between the UK and Cyprus, Simon Porter spent a year in the operations area of the UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters before becoming, as a colonel, the Director of the Operations Centre at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium from mid 2000 until the end of 2002. He then attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in Australia in 2003, where he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Studies.

On promotion to brigadier in January 2004, Simon Porter assumed command of the UK-led International Military Advisory and Training Team in Sierra Leone for one year, with a focus on building sustainable indigenous security capacity. He then returned to NATO, spending five years as the Assistant Chief of Staff for J5 Plans & Policy back on the staff of SHAPE. His
portfolio ranged from operations planning, through force generation, strategic policy and weapons of mass destruction considerations, to requirements and capability development. During this period he conducted further postgraduate
studies, leading to the award of a Master of Business Administration degree.

Remaining in the NATO family, in July 2010 Simon Porter was appointed as the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation's Representative in Europe. He is married to Rosemary. They have three children: one working and two at university.

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