General Gareth Collett joined the British Army in 1986, enjoying junior service with 5 Airborne Brigade, the United Nations and various specialist engineering units. He retired from military service as the Ministry of Defence’s Senior Explosive Ordnance Engineer and Head of the Bomb Disposal profession in 2018, his final post being Her Majesty’s senior political/military representative in Iraq during the defeat of Islamic State’s physical Caliphate.
Gareth holds a Master’s Degree in Explosives Ordnance Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council and a Fellow of the Institute of Explosive Engineers. He is a world leading subject matter expert on countering improvised explosive devices in both a military and humanitarian context and how problems posed by them can be overcome at the strategic level. In his spare time Gareth is a Charity Trustee, advisor to UK parliament, the insurance industry and International Disaster Relief, and senior member of the UK’s Civilian Stabilisation Group. He is currently employed as a Chief Technical Advisor with UNDP in Yemen, assisting Local Security Forces and Government agencies with capacity building.