Episode 36 - Brigadier James Cook OBE Phd - Managing the Army’s Leadership Talent

In this episode we speak to Brigadier James Cook OBE, who commissioned into the Royal Artillery (RA) in 1995. He has served most of his Regimental Duty in 29 Commando Regiment RA and commanded 105 Regiment RA. He completed the Combat Arms Fighting Systems Course at the Royal College of Military Sciences in 1999, and has instructed soldiers in training as well as being a Company Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

As a member of the General Staff, he has focused on the future of warfare as Assistant Head of Concepts in Army HQ, been the Assistant Head of Career Management of the General Staff in the Army Personnel Centre, and is now Director of the work that is developing the future of the Army's personnel and talent management: Programme CASTLE.

He is also the Chairman of Army Rugby Union and a member of the Army Football Union Board, being appointed an OBE in 2016 for services to Army sport. He is also Chair of the RA historical committee, and the chair of both a Governors' and Parent Teachers' Association. He completed his Phd in 2020 on how the British Army transformed during the first World War.