Richard Kemp

Colonel Richard Justin Kemp (born 14 April 1959) is a retired British Army officer who served from 1977 to 2006. Kemp was an infantry battalion commanding officer. Among his assignments were the command of Operation Fingal in Afghanistan from July to November 2003. After retiring Kemp co-wrote Attack State Red with Chris Hughes, an account of the 2007 Afghanistan campaign undertaken by the Royal Anglian Regiment, documenting their initial deployment. Kemp has spoken on a range of social and political issues, including the British armed forces, the Middle East, and the European Union. Early life and military career Kemp was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School before serving as a soldier and officer in the Royal Anglian Regiment from 1977 to 2006. Having trained as an infantry soldier in 1977 at Bassingbourn Barracks, Cambridgeshire, he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on the General List on 5 August 1978. Posted back to the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1979, Kemp was appointed as a platoon commander with the 3rd Battalion, based in Palace Barracks, Belfast. During his military career Kemp completed seven deployments on Operation Banner in Northern Ireland. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1980 and Captain in 1985. He later became a training instructor at Bassingbourn before a posting to the 2nd Battalion as the second in command of a company, Milan Platoon commander, and then battle group operations officer, serving in several locations across the world, including a tour as part of UNFICYP in Cyprus. As a captain in the Royal Anglian Regiment, Kemp took part in the first Gulf War in 1990–91, commanding the Tactical Headquarters of 7th Armoured Brigade, and was promoted to the rank of Major in 1991.