Profile: Lt Gen Bucknall - Military high flier steps into political arena

LIEUTENANT General James Bucknall has been second in command for the allied coalition of 130,000 troops in Afghanistan since August last year and is one of the high fliers in the British military.

The 53-year-old from Hampshire, who lists supporting Newcastle United among his hobbies, joined the army in 1978 when he was given a commission in the Coldstream Guards. He was mentioned in dispatches while serving in Northern Ireland in 1990 during the Troubles and commanding the 1st Armoured Division in Bosnia in 1998. Bucknall became major general in 2006, whereupon he was appointed Chief of Staff of Nato's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, initially in Afghanistan.

Military sources were surprised by his public intervention in the Afghanistan deployment debate because he is not known for "acting politically".

However, it is known that he has grave concerns about the coalition's plans to cut military personnel.