James Swift (British Army officer)  Lieutenant-General James Francis Pardoe Swift, is a senior British Army officer. Swift was commissioned in to the Royal Regiment of Wales on 1 September 1989. He served as commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Welsh during the Iraq War. He became Commander, 20th Armoured Brigade in May 2012 and Director of Strategy in March 2016 and his post was re-titled as Assistant Chief of the General Staff in September 2018. He became General Officer Commanding the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division in November 2018. It was announced on 30 January 2020 that Swift would become Chief of Defence People (CDP) succeeding Lieutenant General Richard Nugee in late February 2020. Swift was promoted to lieutenant-general on 27 February 2020. Swift was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services in Iraq on 25 July 2008.