General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter, GCB, CBE, DSO (born 11 February 1959) is a retired senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the Defence Staff from June 2018 to November 2021.

He served as commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in the late 1990s, deploying with his unit to Bosnia in 1998 and Kosovo in 1999.

[6] As a junior officer he served in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany and Great Britain.

[1] Promoted to major on 30 September 1991,[7] he attended Staff College, Camberley later that year before becoming a company commander with 3rd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in 1992.

[9] In 1998 he was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in which role he was deployed to Bosnia in 1998 and Kosovo in 1999.

Carter was promoted to colonel on 31 December 2000 (with seniority from 30 June)[14] and advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 29 April 2003, following service in the War in Afghanistan.

[20]Carter became Director of Army Resources and Plans at the Ministry of Defence in 2006 and was given the honorary appointment of Deputy Colonel of The Rifles on 1 February 2007[21] (the successor regiment to the Royal Green Jackets) – a post he held until 1 November 2009.

[25] Carter became Director-General Land Warfare early in 2011[26] and, having been appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in March 2011,[27][28] he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Commander Field Army in November 2011[29] (the role redesignated Deputy Commander Land Forces in January 2012).

According to Carter failure to keep up with Russia will leave the UK exposed, particularly to unorthodox, hybrid warfare.

[44][45][46] In August 2018 Carter said he would not allow British soldiers to be "chased" by people making "vexatious claims" about their conduct during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

[48] Carter was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 2019 Birthday Honours.

[52] Further criticism came from Lieutenant General Daniel P. Bolger, who claimed that "young riflemen paid the price" for Carter's "risk-averse" mentality and his unwillingness to allow his troops to defend themselves.

[1] Carter was honoured Ad Portas, being received formally by the whole school, at his alma mater, Winchester College, in September 2021.