Major General John Taylor Holmes, DSO, OBE, MC (born 22 July 1949) is a retired British Army officer who served as Director Special Forces from 1999 to 2001, which included command of Operation Barras in September 2000.
[2] He transferred to 22 Special Air Service in 1974 and was commanding officer of the regiment from 1989 to 1992.
[3] He worked for the Supreme Allied Commander Europe before being appointed Director Special Forces in 1999.
[4] The BSS was set up, and is run, by Fawaz Akhras, the British-based father-in-law of President Bashar al-Assad.
"It doesn’t mean I support the actions of President Assad and the Syrian government", Holmes told The Sunday Times.