RMR LONDON

Military experience

Alex Murray was commissioned in to the Corps as a Direct Entry (non-grad) officer in 1989. His initial draft on completion of training was to 40 Cdo as a Troop Commander and subsequently Company 2IC, this included an operational deployment to Kurdistan (Op Haven) in 1991 and his first winter training deployment to Norway.

Subsequent drafts as a subaltern included training Recruits at CTCRM, 2 years on operational loan service to the Army in Northern Ireland (Op Banner), and a spell as Squadron 2IC / Operations Officer at the Commando Logistic Regiment which included disaster relief operations in Antigua and Montserrat following volcano and hurricane activity (Op Harlech).

Following Initial Command and Staff Training, he has held staff appointments in Fleet N7 (Collective Training), and was responsible for taking a Young Officer Batch (Sept 98) through their training at CTCRM. From 1999-2001 he spent 2 years on loan service with the USMC as an Operations Officer with 2D Marine Regiment based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

This ensured he was well placed to deploy on the initial coalition foray in to Afghanistan as the 3 Cdo Bde liaison officer to the US Army’s 10 Mountain Division in January 2002 (Op JACANA).

He completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course in 2003 and was appointed as the Corps Promotions Officer.

From 2004 – 2008 he was employed back at regimental duty; Company Command was with Command Coy 42 Cdo, followed directly by a draft as 2IC 40 Commando. This period was dominated by 2 themes; amphibious experience (including deployments to the East Coast of America, the West Coast of Africa, Denmark and Poland), and Afghanistan where he deployed as 2IC / COS Battle Group North, Task Force Helmand with 40 Cdo (Op HERRICK 7).

He was promoted Lt Col and awarded MBE in 2008.

Since leaving regimental duty in 2008, he has been involved with ‘Capacity Building’ in Africa. Initially as the MOD based desk officer with policy and management responsibility for UK Defence assets in Western and Southern Africa, and most recently as a member of the British Peace Support Team (South Africa) delivering ‘Capacity Building’ across Southern Africa.

Alex returned from Africa in November 2011 to command RMR City of London.

He is married to Andrea and has 3 teenaged children at school in Taunton. They live in married quarters in Kingston-Upon-Thames. He is an amateur Africa Watcher (especially politics and security issues), a determined Telemark Skier, an enthusiastic Game Shot, and a budding Scuba Diver.