Major General Cowley joined the British Army in 2000 and commissioned into The Queen’s Royal Hussars with whom he conducted tours of Kosovo and Iraq. From 2005 he commanded at both troop and squadron level in a specialist unit. During that time, he conducted multiple tours of Iraq and Afghanistan before being wounded in 2013.
On recovery, Major General Cowley served as the Chief of Staff of 16 Air Assault Brigade in 2014/15 before studying for a Masters Degree in Planning and Strategy at the US Joint Advanced Warfare School in Norfolk, Virginia.
In 2016/17 Major General Cowley deployed to Iraq as part of the coalition to defeat ISIS before assuming command of The Queen’s Royal Hussars in Germany. On completion of unit command in 2019, he worked as the Military Assistant to The Chief of the General Staff before assuming command of 16 Air Assault Brigade in 2021. As a Brigadier, he was appointed Commander of the Combat Manoeuvre Centre in July 2023. In October 2024, Major General Cowley was appointed as Commandant Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which has now merged with other training organisations to form Army Individual Training Command (AITC); an organisation which trains all new officers and soldiers across the Army. He is also the 2* advocate for the Army Multicultural Network.
Major General Cowley is married to Katherine and they have three daughters. In 2011 he founded The Talent Tap, a charity which helps underprivileged school leavers achieve their potential. More recently he founded a not-for-profit called Future Forces which aims to attract more talent and technology into defence and security. He has been awarded a QCVS in 2009, an MBE in 2015 and an OBE in 2019.