Air Officer possibly misidentified
 

Please see

Secret diary of a civil servant: This government is already leaking like a sieve | Secret diary of a civil servant | Politics | The Observer

The officer with Liam Fox seems to be an Air Commodore, if I read the shoulder boards correctly.

A Google search for Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston only produces images of the chief of defence staff in the Royal Australian Air Force, a clean-shaven pilot.

Does anybody agree the Grauniad team has the wrong name ? If so, can anybody supply the correct name ?

****

The newspaper accepted the mistake by email on 5 October. New readers will find the photograph correctly naming ACM Simon Bryant. I had not realised how looooong those shoulder boards are ! RLSB

Dude, the man in the picture is CinC Air Command - ACM Simon Bryant.

Looks like the papers have screwed up again!!!

Not only wrong Air Officer, but wrong Air Force to boot.... Oh dear...

Although Angus Houston holds the rank of ACM in the Royal Australian Air Force, he is the Chief of the Australian Defence Force -the most senior position in the Australian Defence Force - and a gentleman to boot.

See Chief of the Defence Force

That's not even an Australian Air Force Officer, that's Bryant all right, he was a guest of honour at a dinner of ours a couple years back!!

It's probably a deliberate 'leak' to inform the UK that, as the RAF is getting to dangerously low strength it is about to be absorbed into the RAAF as the junior partner :}

Ex OC 43 Sqn RAF.
Navigator.
Was always going places.
No OBE??:E:E:E

MID with no attendant medal? What's that all about?

It's Simon Bryant - a top chap! No OBE - he's got a CBE. And the MID is in fact a QCVS or QCBA.

Possibly the first time that the originator of this thread has been addressed as 'Dude'.

;)

It is a QCBA awarded for Afghanistan in the 2002 Ops Hons List.

Phil.

A nav ACM?

Would have posted earlier but have just come round after fainting.

phil

I think you meant QCVS ;). Clicky (about half to two-thirds down the page).

Slight drift - gp capt to 4* in ~8 years ....:D

That's some "navigation"!

Wrathmonk
 

;)

My mistake. - Sorry.

I hope he's enrolled in SODCAT and up to date with his wotsits
airsound

I can confirm the Air Marshal is indeed a fully paid up member of SODCAT he bought me a beer only the other day .....:D

All sorted apparently, but from what I recall Glen Macey (Capt on 206, later Sqn Ldr, then lost touch) wore an MID from Gulf 1 before the Gulf Medal was awarded....

It was always intended that an MID emblem could be worn on its own after any medals. In 1947 The London Gazette published detailed rules for wearing MID emblems, and stated that if the recipient was not eligible for the appropriate campaign medal, he (sic) was to wear the emblem after any other medal ribbons.

It's difficult to see in what circumstances somebody could get an MID and yet not be entitled to the campaign medal, although I suppose it would be possible to arrive in theatre, do something to earn an MID and leave before serving the minimum qualifying period, but it seems pretty unlikely.

Incidentally until the rules were changed in 1994 (I think), the MID was the only award other than the Victoria and George Crosses which could be awarded posthumously.

btw = SODCAT?

Thats not the spoof badge "Angus" used to wear on 19 Sqn!!!