Area Colonel

Colonel M Butterwick

Area Colonel 8th May 2015
Colonel M Butterwick as Area Colonel Northumberland and the Northeast
Colonel Mike Butterwick (late RRF)
Deputy Commander, 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East

Colonel Mike Butterwick was commissioned into the Second Fusiliers in 1994. His early regimental appointments included Second-in-Command of an Armoured Infantry Company in Germany, Recruit Instructor and Adjutant of the First Fusiliers. After his time at Regimental Duty he instructed officer cadets at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Australia. Following this he attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course at Shrivenham. He then commanded a Rifle Company in the Second Fusiliers leading them on operations in Northern Ireland and Iraq. His black bag appointment was as Chief of Staff 143 (West Midlands) Brigade. After a short stint in the General Staff his SO1 tour was as the lead policy officer for Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen within International Policy and Plans in the MOD. He commanded Second Fusiliers 2011-2013, first as part of 7 (Armd) Bde in Germany and then during their tour as the Theatre Reserve Battalion in Cyprus for Op HERRICK 17. He moved on promotion to be the UK's International Fellow at the US Army War College and left as a Distinguished Graduate of the College.

He holds a Masters degree in History from Cambridge University, a Masters degree with Distinction in Defence Studies from Kings College, London and a Masters degree in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. A passionate sportsman he still tries to play football, cricket and hockey whenever he can, although it may just be time to hang up his various boots!

He is married to Sarah and has 2 children, Jack (11) and Amelie (7)

Charlie Calder was commissioned into the Royal Anglian Regiment on leaving Sandhurst in 1987. He joined his Battalion in Gibraltar and served there for 2 years before returning to the UK. Subsequently he deployed to Northern Ireland for 3 separate tours of duty and also to the Balkans. He fulfilled a wide range of appointments including ATk Platoon Commander, RSO and Adjutant. He then moved to 24 Airmobile Brigade, and then 16 Air Assault Brigade as the SO3 G3 (Ops). After Staff College he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of 20 Armd Bde which included a deployment to Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion. He rejoined his Battalion in Iraq in 2005 as a Company Commander with specific responsibility for mentoring the Iraqi Army and Police. On return to UK the Battalion quickly switched focus to Afghanistan and he deployed with them to Helmand Province in 2007. On return he spent a year as Battalion 2IC before moving to the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers to command the 2nd Battalion. During his time as Commanding Officer he served in London and Germany, and also took the Battalion to Afghanistan in 2009 where he was responsible for Musa Qal’eh District. He was awarded an OBE in recognition of the effort of all ranks under his command. Post command he served as a member of the Directing Staff at Staff College. He has just returned from a 12 month deployment to Afghanistan working with the USMC in Regional Command South-West as the lead for Afghan National Security Force Development. He is married to Claire and together they have 2 children; Edward who is 10 and Annabelle who is 6 years old. We wish him well in his role as Colonel Northumberland.