from 1972 to 1974. For service in Oman, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1976 for his actions in the battles at Musandam and Dhofar. De la Billière then served from 1977 in a number of administrative posts assuming command of the British Army Training Team in Sudan before returning to the regiment as Director SAS in 1979. For the next four years he commanded SAS Group with overall responsibility for military command. It was during this period that the Special Air Service Regiment became publicly known as a consequence of their storming of the Iranian Embassy in 1980. He was also responsible during the Falklands War for planning Operation Mikado. In 1982, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Regular service commands After the SAS, de la Billière was appointed Military Commissioner and Commander of British Forces in the Falkland Islands from 1984 and General Officer Commanding Wales District from 1985. He was succeeded by Brigadier Morgan Llewellyn on 1 December 1987. In 1987 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). He was General Officer Commanding South East District from 1988. Despite being due for retirement de la Billière was appointed on 6 October 1990 as Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in Operation Granby (the Gulf War), in effect the second-in-command of the multinational military coalition headed by US General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. His experience of fighting in the area, knowledge of the people and possession of some fluency in Arabic overrode concerns about his age. In this role he was largely responsible for persuading Schwarzkopf (who was initially sceptical) to allow the use of SAS and other special forces in significant roles in the conflict. The British army contingent expanded from 14,000 early in November 1990 to more than 45,000 through to completion of the engagement and cessation of hostilities in February 1991. In 1991, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and in August that year, de la Billière received Canada's Meritorious Service Cross. By the end of his career de la Billière had risen to the rank of general, and became a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence on Middle East military matters. In order to allow him to receive the pension benefits of full general he was given the newly created sinecurist (honorarium)