1. Early life and education

2. Naval career

3. Military law and homosexuality

4. References

{{Infobox person

Craig Jones MBE (born 17th July 1968) is a former Royal Navy Officer, healthcare entrepreneur and Director at Barclays plc (2008-2011).^[1]  As the ‘gay ban’ was lifted on 12th January 2000, ^[2][3]Jones came out in an ill prepared Armed Forces which had opposed the lifting of the ban for decades.^[4] By his own admission he forcefully petitioned Service Chiefs to unravel the impact of decades of prohibition and recover the Military Covenant for LGBTQ service personnel .  He is widely credited with driving change at a pace which was counter to the MODs intent driving a hard won agenda for change, until a raft of initiatives were directed by the Chief of the Naval Staff in 2003.  ^[4][5][6]

It has been widely reported that Jones paid scant attention to the conventions of Queen’s Regulatons in his correspondence with Service Chiefs, Ministers and the National and International Press. ^[7][8] Mildly apologetically he noted in New Statesman in July 2008 that :  

“At times I have defended my kind like a tiger and as I depart the Service its timely to acknowledge that there is a group of Senior Officers who have received acerbic letters, emails - or far worse - a visit from me over the years.  The fact that I have escaped ‘Jankers’ makes me think that they took my unmilitary directness with a ‘pinch of sea salt’ - a faint heart never won a fair maiden.”^[5]

In 2006 then a relatively junior officer, he was exceptionally given leave to speak in the United States Congress tacitly advocating for the repeal of ‘Dont Ask Don’t Tell’ (DADT) with members of Congress and Staffers.  He returned to Washington in 2009 for discussions at Brookings as the Pentagon prepared for their own policy change.^[9][10]

In 2008 he was engaged as a consultant to the Equality and Human Rights Commission during their compliance investigation of the alleged harassment of women in the Armed Forces.  The enquiry found that the Armed Forces were making steady progress and working towards greater compliance.

Jones was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2006 for services to Equality and Human Rights in the Armed Forces ^[11] and completed his service career in 2008.  He is currently a member of the MOD Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.

Early life and education

Jones was born on 17th July 1968 in Bingley, West Yorkshire and was educated at Bingley Grammar School prior to joining Portsmouth Polytechnic (now known as University of Portsmouth).  He was a member of Southampton University Royal Naval Unit in the rank of Midshipman Royal Navy Reserves between 1986 and 1989 and trained in HMS Fencer. Mid-way through his degree studies he was offered a Commission in the Royal Navy.

Naval career

Jones joined Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth in 1989 and completed his Fleet Time in  HMS UPTON, HMS ARIADNE and HMS ALACRITY, before joining the Fleet as a Lieutenant in HMS CORNWALL in 1992. He was the Royal Navy’s first Helicopter Fast Rope Boarding Officer and led operations to clear stranded shipping from the Shatt Al Arab after the 1st Gulf War.  He was an Executive Officer in the border regions of Northern Ireland during ‘the troubles’ conducting counter terrorism boardings and searches in the coastal regions.  The Royal Navy patrol teams in Northern Ireland received the Wilkinson Sword of Peace in 1995.  Later he was the Deputy Navigator of the aircraft carrier HMS INVINCIBLE during Operation Bolton.  After completing the Principal Warfare Officers Course, he was the Operations Officer of the Amphibious Flagship HMS FEARLESS .  In 2004 he was the Fleet Signals Intelligence Officer at Northwood HQ and his final role was at the Ministry of Defence as the Maritime Signals Intelligence Procurement Officer. 

From the day of the lifting of the gay ban on 12th January 2000 and until leaving the Service in 2008, Jones led the LGBTQ community in the British Armed Forces, and persuasively negotiated with Service Chiefs the unravelling of the impact of decades of prohibition.   

Military law and homosexuality

Homosexuality was decriminalised under the Sexual Offences Act 1967, but this did not extend to members of the armed forces. However, section 146 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 repealed those sections of the 1967 Act.  Thereafter the Armed Forces consider such acts as grounds for administrative dismissal. This changed in 1999 when the European Court of Human after it was rejected by the Appeal Court in London.   The European Court of Human Rights held that the Article 8 rights of two dismissed personnel had been breached. It was initially unclear whether the Government would act upon the ruling however on the 12th January 2000 the long-standing ban on homosexuals in the British Armed Forces was finally lifted.  Announcing the change to Parliament, the Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon Geoff Hoon acknowledge that “There will be those who would have preferred to continue to exclude homosexual, but the law is the law.  We cannot choose the decisions we implement.  The status quo is simply not an option.”^[3][12]

References

• Bruce Greyson
• Bruce Grobelaar
• Bruce Grounds
• Bruce Grove
• Bruce Grube
• Bruce G. Sundlun
• Bruce Guthro
• Bruce Hagen
• Bruce Haig
• Bruce Haigh
• Bruce Hall
• Bruce Hall (disambiguation)
• Bruce Halliday
• Bruce Hall (musician)
• Bruce Hall Residents' Association
• Bruce Hall (University of Pittsburgh)
• Bruce Hamilton Hay
• Bruce Hampton
• Bruce Hapke
• Bruce Harding
• Bruce Hardy
• Bruce Harper
• Bruce Hart
• Bruce Hart (songwriter)
• Bruce Haslingden