 As Commander, Regional Forces, Parker was responsible for overseeing the £3 billion overhaul of the Army's Royal Engineers' Royal School of Military Engineering in a public-private partnership in September 2008 as well as accepting the Freedom of the City of Bath on behalf of the Rifles in October 2008, and campaigning for the creation of an Armed Forces Day for the UK, a proposal that was implemented in July 2009.In September 2009, it was announced that Parker would succeed Royal Marine Lieutenant General Sir Jim Dutton as deputy commander of ISAF in Afghanistan.Parker was serving in Afghanistan on Christmas Day 2009 and undertook a tour of British bases in the area to visit troops.