UK HQ Air - Deputy Commander Ops Appointment

[RAFEngO74to09]

Air Vice Marshal H Smyth CB OBE DFC to be promoted Air Marshal and to be Deputy Commander Operations, Headquarters Air Command and Air Member for Operations with effect from 26 August 2022 in succession to Air Marshal Sir Gerry Mayhew KCB CBE whose next appointment is yet to be announced.

https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/senior-appointments/

He is currently just finishing up as the first incumbent of the Defence HQ Space Director post having previously been AOC 1 Gp,

[Beancountercymru]

Also appointed were three new posts as Regional Air Officers - what will they do that needs new posts ?

[cynicalint]

AOC Inclusion, AOC Diversity and AOC Equality...

[Old-Duffer]

I think these appointments are 'representational', rather than substantive and they have other jobs, which pay the rent. If not the RAF will be moving back to the 'Area' concept they had before 1936/7. On the face of it, there seems to be room for a lot of treading on toes and plenty of jobs for outer offices, ADCs etc. The precedent might be things like AO Wales, AO Scotland, AO Northern Ireland, which I think are filled by 'retired' officers.

As to Gerry Mayhew, this might be an early step to announcing the appointment of the next CAS.

Old Duffer

[The B Word]

Great news on the appointment of Harv :ok:

[MPN11]

Looking at the Senior Appointments list. that's 25 Air Commodores appointed/promoted in 2022. We're getting like the RN ... one 1* per front line FJ aircraft!

[Red Line Entry]

The Regional Air Officer posts are all VERRs (Volunteer Ex-Regular Reserve) and are only 90 days per year. They will have a similar mandate to the existing AOs for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, but will have their own ‘patches’ across England.

[Maxibon]

Let’s face it, they’re token posts to enable former senior officers, now working for the primes, to keep a level of influence.

[MPN11]

And the other 1* forming the base of the pyramid for CAS/CDS

[Maxibon]

Yeah but how many 1*s does it take to make a CAS? Sounds like a feeder for a joke; and ironically maybe it is…

[MPN11]

Yeah but how many 1*s does it take to make a CAS? Sounds like a feeder for a joke; and ironically maybe it is…
5/1 used to be the presumed ratio for Air Officers.

[Red Line Entry]

Let’s face it, they’re token posts to enable former senior officers, now working for the primes, to keep a level of influence.

Maxibon, none of the new RAOs currently work or have previously worked for ‘the primes’. Two of them are leaving/have just left the Service.