Former Army chief to lift lid on Operation Olympics at Salford Lecture
One of the Army’s most senior commanders will give the inside story on the role played by the forces in averting a major security shortfall at London 2012 in a special public talk at the University of Salford this week.
General Sir Nick Parker KCB CBE ADC Gen, will give the speech, entitled London 2012: Did the Armed Forces Save the Day?, on Thursday 25 April as part of the University’s high profile Salford Lecture series.
General Sir Nick Parker was Commander Land Forces until December 2012 and, as a general officer, served in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan. He also held staff roles including Governor of Edinburgh Castle, Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College and Commander of Regional Forces, a role that gave him the duties of Inspector-General of the Territorial Army.
Between 2005 and 2006, Parker served as Deputy Commanding General of Multi-National Force – Iraq, before appointment to General Officer Commanding, Northern Ireland, where he had the responsibility of overseeing the withdrawal of troops from the province’s streets for the first time in more than 30 years.
Reflecting on his most recent experience as Standing Joint Commander for Operation Olympics, his lecture will use the example of G4S’s significant staff shortages at last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games to explore issues around the ability of the armed forces to provide short-term, high volume and flexible security support in crisis situations. He will also discuss the difficulties of strategic decision-making where many agencies are involved.
Colin McCallum, Executive Director, University Advancement, said: “Following on from the lecture by Professor Gary LaFree, Director of the National Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, General Sir Nick’s talk promises to help us better understand some of the most significant issues facing society today. It will be a fascinating insight into how the armed forces stepped in to rescue a situation which could have jeopardised the whole of London 2012.”
London 2012: Did the Armed Forces Save the Day? will take place at 6.00pm on Thursday 25 April at the Chapman Building on the University’s Peel Park campus. Admission is free and open to all – to reserve a place please visit https://supporters.salford.ac.uk/NickParker or contact the University events team on 0161 295 2313 or events@salford.ac.uk.
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