Early commands and promotions

Parker was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets as a second lieutenant in January 1974.^[5][6] He was promoted to full lieutenant in November 1975,^[7] was Mentioned in Despatches in January 1980 for service in Northern Ireland the previous year,^[8] and promoted captain in May 1980.^[9] He attended the Army Staff Course in 1986^[4] prior to promotion to major in October the same year.^[10]

Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1991,^[11] he was subsequently appointed commanding officer of the Second Battalion the Royal Green Jackets from 1994 to 1995^[4] before promotion to colonel in 1996,^[12] having attended the Higher Command and Staff Course at the Staff College, Camberley.^[4] Parker was promoted to brigadier in December 1997, with seniority from 30 June 1997^[13] and given command of 20th Armoured Brigade,^[2] which deployed to Bosnia in 1999.^[14]

High command

Parker served as commander of the British task force in Sierra Leone and advisor to the country's president in 2001,^[4] and went on to become General Officer Commanding, 2nd Division in November 2002,^[6] being promoted to major-general on the same date.^[15] As General Officer Commanding 2nd Division, he was also Governor of Edinburgh Castle.^[16]

In 2004 he served as commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College,^[17] before taking over as deputy commanding general of the Multi-National Corps – Iraq, holding the position from August 2005 to February 2006.^[4]

Parker was appointed General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland and promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general on 18 July 2006.^[18] In Northern Ireland he was responsible for reducing the UK's troop commitment in the Province and is quoted as saying "that the military had made a significant contribution to security in Northern Ireland that has allowed other people to make the difference through politics, social programmes and economics".^[19] Parker oversaw the closure of the base at Bessbrook, County Armagh, which, he said, "signifies a time when the army stops being part of the security forces and moves into being part of the community."^[20]

Parker was awarded the American Legion of Merit "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services during coalition operations in Afghanistan" in 2007.^[21] In October 2007, he became Commander of Regional Forces at Land Command,^[22] a dual-hatted role as Inspector-General of the Territorial Army in which role he advocated for the TA and the regular Army to be regarded as a single organisation, pointing out that both face identical risks on deployment and saying "the TA soldier brings maturity and a wider understanding of the world – the end result, more so now than ever before, is the one Army and everyone should feel part of the same team".^[23] As Commander, Regional Forces, Parker was responsible for overseeing the £3 billion overhaul of the Army's Royal Engineers' Royal School of Military Engineering in a public-private partnership in September 2008^[24] as well as accepting the Freedom of the City of Bath on behalf of the Rifles in October 2008,^[25] and campaigning for the creation of an Armed Forces Day for the UK, a proposal that was implemented in July 2009.^[26]

ISAF

In September 2009, it was announced that Parker would succeed Royal Marine Lieutenant General Sir Jim Dutton as deputy commander of ISAF in Afghanistan.^[27] Parker was serving in Afghanistan on Christmas Day 2009 and undertook a tour of British bases in the area to visit troops.^[28]

On 23 June 2010, Parker assumed temporary command of all 140,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, following the departure of American General Stanley McChrystal.^[3][29] British Prime Minister David Cameron told U.S. President Barack Obama that Parker had assured him that the operation would "not miss a beat" during the transition period.^[30] He held the role until 3 July, when General David Petraeus was confirmed as McChrystal's replacement.^[31]

General

On 29 July 2010 Parker was named as the next Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces in succession to General Sir Peter Wall.^[32]

Parker took over as Commander-in-Chief Land Forces on 1 October 2010 and was granted the substantive rank of general.^[33] For his service in Afghanistan, Parker was presented with the NATO Meritorious Service Medal by the overall allied commander in Afghanistan, US General David Petraeus. Parker also received the Afghan President's Award from its Minister of Defence.^[34]

Under a major army command reorganisation effective 1 November 2011 Parker's role was re-designated Commander Land Forces.^[35]

Parker's post as Commander Land Forces was assumed by Lieutenant General Adrian Bradshaw in January 2013.^[36]

As of 2010, Parker was Honorary Colonel of the Manchester and Salford Universities Officers' Training Corps^[37] and served as Colonel Commandant of 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets.^[38] When the Royal Green Jackets were merged with others in 2007 to form The Rifles, he became Colonel Commandant of the new regiment until replaced in 2013 by Lt-General Nick Carter.^[39][40]

From 2008 Parker was the President of the Peninsular War 200, the official UK organisation for the commemoration of the Peninsular War (1808–1814).^[41]

Parker was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001^[42] and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2009 Birthday Honours.^[43]