Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Karol John Drewienkiewicz is a retired

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, generally known as "DZ".

Early life and education

Drewienkiewicz attended Stamford School, an independent boarding school in southern Lincolnshire, alongside Mike Jackson, with whom he later served in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

and who went on to become the professional head of the British Army.

Army career

Drewienkiewicz was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1966 and was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1968, captain in 1972, major in 1978, lieutenant colonel in 1984 and

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in 1988. Promotion to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

came on 31 December 1989, with seniority from 30 June that year. Drewienkiewicz attained general officer rank with promotion to acting

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

on 15 December 1994 and was appointed Engineer in Chief (Army). He was granted the substantive rank of major general on 25 April 1995 with seniority from 1 July 1994. He was appointed to the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

role of Director of Support at LANDCENT on 28 July 1995 and to the honorary role of Colonel Commandant, Corps of Royal Engineers in 1997. In 1998 he served as

military assistant A military assistant is sub-specialty of secretarial duties in the British Armed Forces and many of those derived from them, is an officer appointed to the personal office of a general officer. Whilst aides de camp (ADCs) are responsible for adm ...

to the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1998. Drewienkiewicz went on to serve as second in command, under William Walker, of the Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM), a group of unarmed observers sent into Kosovo in 1999 to oversee the United Nations-mandated reduction in arms under Slobodan Milošević's regime. Drewienkiewicz was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for his role in the KVM in the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various ...

. Drewienkiewicz retired from active service on 31 March 2001 and was appointed to the Reserve of Officers. He was succeeded as Colonel Commandant, Corps of Royal Engineers by then-Major General

Mark Mans Lieutenant General Sir Mark Francis Noel Mans, (born 1955) is a senior British Army officer, who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces of the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2012. Military career Educated at Berkhamsted School, Mans was commiss ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drewienkiewicz, John Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge British Army major generals Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Living people People educated at Stamford School Royal Engineers officers Year of birth missing (living people)