Aldwin Wight Keynote Speaker

Brigadier Aldwin Wight is a highly experienced and dynamic leader. He has over 26 years of military experience, culminating in commanding the United Kingdom’s 22 SAS Regiment before receiving a commission from the Sultan of Oman to command the Sultan’s Special Force.

Following his military career, he worked as a Security Executive, an Advisor to the Omani National Security Council and Consultant across a broad spectrum of activity in the Middle East and Africa.

He enjoys risk and challenges as well as seeking solutions to security related or other issues that prevent societies developing.  He believes that frontier environments have interesting opportunities and allow greater freedom of action.  Creating teams and ideas in these environments and working with diverse people and interests is stimulating, if challenging.

In his military career, Aldwin commanded in Operations in a variety of different contexts and regions, including Cyprus, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Colombia, Iraq and Yugoslavia. In 1982 he lead the first four man patrol inserted in to the Falkland Islands, three weeks ahead of the amphibious landings, operating behind enemy lines for 28 days.

In the 1980s, he deployed, at the behest of Margaret Thatcher, several special forces teams to assist the Colombian Government, faced with a national crisis due to the activities of the Medellin and Cali Cartels. This initial involvement, with US support, lasted some eight years.

He was the senior SAS staff officer in the main UK headquarters for the first Gulf War and then went on to persuade the UK Government to deploy the SAS in support of UN operations in Yugoslavia, to great effect.