hiː wʌz ɐpˈɔɪntᵻd kˈɑːmɐndˌɑːnt dʒˈɛnɚɹəl ɹˈɔɪəl mɚɹˈiːnz ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd wˈʌn, ænd ɐ jˈɪɹ lˈeɪɾɚ hiː tˈʊk ˌʌp ðə dʒˈɑːb ʌv kəmˈændɚ juːnˈaɪɾᵻd kˈɪŋdəm æmfˈɪbiəs fˈoːɹsᵻz, ɪnwˌɪtʃ kəpˈæsᵻɾi hiː dᵻplˈɔɪd æz ðə jˌuːkˈeɪ mˈæɹɪtˌaɪm kəmpˈoʊnənt kəmˈændɚ fɔːɹ ˌɑːpɚɹˈeɪʃənz ɪnðə ɡˈʌlf.
He was appointed Commandant General Royal Marines in 2001, and a year later he took up the job of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces, in which capacity he deployed as the UK Maritime Component Commander for operations in the Gulf.