General Sir Gordon Kenneth Messenger, is a retired senior Royal Marines officer who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff from May 2016 to May 2019. As a colonel he commanded 40 Commando during the Iraq War, and led the Commando in the assault on the Al-Faw Peninsula. He served as British Commander of Task Force Helmand, during the 3 Commando Brigade deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Operation Herrick IX from 2008 to 2009.