Colonel Hugo P S Stanford-Tuck – Colonel Brigade of Gurkhas

Colonel Hugo Stanford-Tuck commissioned into The Royal Gurkha Rifles in 2001 at the age of 19, deploying immediately to Bosnia. His early career included operational tours in Sierra Leone, Canada, Brunei, Iraq (attached to the Royal Welch Fusiliers) and multiple deployments to Afghanistan – notably serving as the Operations Officer for a Gurkha Battle Group attached to 3 Commando Brigade in Musa Qaleh. In 2015, he commanded a Company of Gurkhas, leading them as the Air Assault Task Force and subsequently on operations in Kabul. In 2022, he fulfilled a lifelong ambition by assuming command of The First Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles in Brunei.

On the staff, Colonel Stanford-Tuck has served as a deployed Press Officer, Brigade Operations Officer, and operational planner for MAB2, the Joint Force Headquarters and the Land Commitments planner within the Ministry of Defence (MoD). He later served on the General Staff as the operational planner for the Field Army. He was awarded the Templer Prize at Staff College.

He holds a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Warwick Business School, applying these skills to lead the development of the MOD’s first Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy.

In his spare time, he is learning Jiu Jitsu, has finally transitioned from playing to coaching rugby and enjoys long-distance walking, preferably in the mountains.