Simon Hamilton (officer)

Lieutenant General Simon P. Hamilton is a senior British Army officer who has served as the Director General Land at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) since December 2023.^[1]

Simon P. Hamilton
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Years of service	1995–present
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Commands	101 Logistic Brigade
Battles / wars	Kosovo War Bosnian War Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Military career

Hamilton was commissioned into the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1995.^[1] He has served on operational deployments in Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.^[2]

He held a range of staff appointments at the Ministry of Defence, Army Headquarters, and within DE&S. Hamilton commanded 101 Logistic Brigade and later served as Head of Equipment in Army HQ and Head of the Vehicle Support Team at DE&S.^[2]

He went on to become Director of Support and was the first Director of Programmes in the British Army. In this role, he was responsible for the delivery of the Army’s capability modernisation portfolio and acted as the Senior Responsible Owner for three Category A programmes.^[1]

Director General Land

In December 2023, Hamilton succeeded Chris Bushell as Director General Land at DE&S.^[1] He is responsible for the delivery and support of land equipment, including vehicles, weapons, and helicopters, with an annual spend of approximately £5 billion. His team includes over 4,000 personnel and manages 57 Category A programmes.^[1]

Hamilton is also credited with contributing to the UK's Land Industrial Strategy, aiming to foster closer partnerships between the Ministry of Defence and industry.^[2][3]

Honours

Hamilton was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 Operational Honours list,^[4] and later appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours.^[5]