[2] He deployed to Northern Ireland multiple times during his early career, for which he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 22 November 1994,[3] awarded a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services" in 1999,[4] and promoted Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 30 September 2003.

[5] Hockenhull became an Instructor at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2003 before being deployed as Chief, Campaign Plans at Headquarters Multi-National Force – Iraq in December 2005,[2] for which he was awarded the United States Bronze Star Medal in 2006.

UK intelligence is watching the prospect of tactical nuclear weapons being used in Ukraine "very closely"; he however considers their usage "very unlikely".

He is quoted saying of China: "incredible military modernisation with a country determined to resolve a political issue".

[12] Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps since 2014,[13] Hockenhull has also been elected a Visiting Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.