Lieutenant General Sharon Nesmith

In August, Deputy Chief of the General Staff Sharon Nesmith became the highest-ranked woman in the British Army and the first woman to hold the role. At 52, Lieutenant General Nesmith, originally from Northumberland, has smashed through glass ceiling after glass ceiling. Not only was she the first female soldier to command a brigade, she was also the first woman to be made a two-star general, and then subsequently a three-star.

It would be remiss to suggest Lt Gen Nesmith did not experience misogyny on her rise to the top. The mother of two, who is married to a tree surgeon, has spoken of being told she would have to resign if she wanted to have a family when she signed up in 1991. She was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals in 1992 and spent much of her early Army career in Germany, going on to complete three tours in the Balkans. She also served in Iraq.

Yet the army she represents today is a far cry from the one she joined, most notably in its pivot towards its Future Soldier transformation. She will be critical in its aim to become ‘a more lethal, agile, digitised and expeditionary force’, saying: ‘I am excited to be playing my part in leading the Army’s mobilisation to meet today’s threats, and the delivery of our Future Soldier’s bold modernisation agenda.’

Lt Gen Nesmith is mainly responsible for managing the Army’s budget and setting the policy for recruitment and career management. Prior to this she ran the Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command, where she was responsible for more than 35,000 Regular and Reserve officers and soldiers across 280 Army courses each year.

When she was promoted to her current role, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said she brought with her ‘extensive experience and new ideas to drive the Army’s transformation and deal with emerging threats across the world’.

Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and at a time where Rishi Sunak was unwilling to commit to increasing defence spending to three per cent of GDP, it will be interesting to see how Lt Gen Nesmith balances the books. It is a challenge not many would relish.

Also likely to be a key figure in the new year is Jude Terry, who this year became the Navy’s first female Rear Admiral. With an investigation underway into ‘abhorrent’ allegations of sexual assault, misogyny and harassment within the Submarine Service, Rearadml Terry will be among those in the spotlight as the Navy attempts to show it will not tolerate such behaviour.

Lieutenant General Sharon Nesmith this year became the most senior woman in the British Army