On Friday 18 June 2010 Brigadier James M Cowan OBE, Commander, 11 Light Brigade spoke on “Operations in Helmand: a Brigade Commander’s perspective”.
11 Lt Bde were deployed to Afghanistan as Task Force Helmand from October 2009 until they handed over to 4 Mech Bde in early April 2010. Brigadier Cowan discussed his Brigade’s operations and responsibilities in Helmand, including the challenges that were presented during the planning and execution of Operation Moshtarak.
James Cowan was educated at Wellington College. He joined the Army in 1982 as a private soldier and served for a year in Northern Ireland. Thereafter, he read Modern History at Pembroke College Oxford before commissioning into The Black Watch in 1987. He was initially in Berlin as a platoon commander, where his first job was to guard Rudolf Hess. He served next in Northern Ireland as continuity Intelligence Officer for South Armagh for two years. He was posted to Zimbabwe in 1991 where he trained Mozambiquan FRELIMO troops. On return, he was Adjutant of The Black Watch in Hong Kong from 1992-94. In 1995 he returned to Africa, to Lesotho, and that same year completed an MPhil at Christ’s College Cambridge.
After Staff College, he was posted to the Directorate of Military Operations from 1997-99, with responsibility for the Balkans during the Kosovo conflict. From 1999-2001 he was a company commander in The Black Watch in Scotland and Germany. He became Military Assistant 1 to the Chief of the General Staff in 2001, working for both Generals Walker and Jackson during the Afghanistan and Iraq crises.
He took command of The Black Watch in July 2003. This included a short notice deployment to Iraq for Op TELIC 4 with fighting in Basrah and Al Amarah in the summer of 2004. The tour ended with Op BRACKEN near Fallujah where The Black Watch worked under US command at Camp Dogwood. After command, he attended the Higher Command and Staff Course. From December 2005 until October 2007 he was Chief of Staff 3 (UK) Division. In that time he deployed to Iraq as COS MND(SE) for six months where the Division planned and conducted Op SINBAD, a comprehensive attempt to deliver Provincial Iraqi Control in Basra. On return he was closely involved in the training of brigades for Iraq and Afghanistan. He has commanded 11 Lt Bde since its inception in October 2007, and while it deployed to Afghanistan in 2009/10.
Listen to the Discussion (01:01:23 hrs)
