James Dutton (Royal Marines officer)

Sir James Dutton KCB, CBE
Dutton being sworn in as Governor in 2013
Governor of Gibraltar
In office 6 December 2013 – 28 September 2015
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Chief Minister	Fabian Picardo
Preceded by	Sir Adrian Johns
Succeeded by	Ed Davis
Personal details
Born	(1954-02-21) 21 February 1954 (age 70)
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth, Lady Dutton
Children	2
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	Royal Marines
Years of service	1972–2010
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Deputy Commander, ISAF Multi-National Division (South-East) (Iraq) Commandant General Royal Marines/Commander UK Amphibious Forces 3 Commando Brigade 40 Commando
Battles/wars	Falklands War War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knight of the Order of St John Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

Viceregal styles of Sir James Dutton (2013–2015)
Reference style	His Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency

Lieutenant General Sir James Benjamin "Jim" Dutton, KCB, CBE (born 21 February 1954) is a retired Royal Marines officer and former Governor of Gibraltar. He held various staff positions in his early career, before commanding 40 Commando. As a brigadier, he held two high-level staff posts—the first at the Ministry of Defence in London, as Director of NATO policy, and the second as a British liaison to The Pentagon shortly after the September 11 attacks, where he was involved in the planning for the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan.

After the planning for the invasion, Dutton took command of 3 Commando Brigade, which was already serving in Afghanistan. In 2003, he led the brigade into the start of Iraq War, supported by units from the British Army as well as the United States Marine Corps, making Dutton the first British officer to command American troops since the Second World War. He commanded his men through heavy resistance from Iraqi forces in the early days of the war.

As a general officer, he served as Commandant General Royal Marines, the professional head of the Royal Marines and a dual-hatted appointment with Commander UK Amphibious Forces, for two years. While in this post, Dutton returned to Iraq to command Multi-national Division (South-East) in 2005, where he attracted media attention through outspoken remarks alleging Iranian support for the insurgents in Iraq. His last field post, as a lieutenant general, was as Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He held the position from 2008 to 2009, during the peak of the Taliban insurgency, and assisted American General Stanley A. McChrystal, then commander of ISAF, in redesigning the military strategy to combat the insurgency. Dutton retired from the military in 2010. He was later appointed Governor of Gibraltar, taking up office on 6 December 2013; he retired early from the post, in September 2015.^[1]