Major General Charlie Grist was commissioned into the Army in September 1997. At regimental duty, he commanded at various levels on operations in Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. From 2014-17, he commanded 1st Battalion, The Rifles.
On the staff he has worked in NATO, the British Army Headquarters, the UK Joint Force Headquarters and UK Ministry of Defence. In 2013-14 he served as Military Assistant to Deputy Commander Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey. In 2017-19 he was appointed SO1 Land in the UK's extremely high readiness deployable headquarters (Joint Force Headquarters). In this role he formulated Joint Contingency Plans and enacted crisis response deployments. In 2019-20, as Assistant Head of Overseas Crisis Plans in the UK Ministry of Defence, he was responsible for formulating military strategic advice to the Chief of Defence Staff and Ministers.
As part of this role he led the UK Defence COVID 19 response team. Most recently he managed the British Army's international engagement programme. He assumed the role of ACOS JS in October 2021 and appointed ACOS J3 in August 2023.
He attended the UK Advanced Command and Staff Course in 2012 and the Royal College of Defence Studies in 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Newcastle University, a Master of Arts Degree in Defence Studies and a Post Graduate Certificate in International Relations and Strategic Studies, both from King's College London.
Major General Grist is married to Joanna with one daughter, Tabitha. He is a retired rugby player, a slow cyclist and a fly fisherman. He assumed the role of V Corps DCG-M on 6 August 2025.
• The role of V Corps in maintaining readiness and security across Europe
• Supporting Allies in Europe with the provision of training and capabilities, including the support of exercises for enhanced interoperability
• Preparing to compete and win in multi-domain operations and large-scale combat scenarios
Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Charles.
Download The Latest Agenda