The Air Force must be flush for talent if it can allow people of the ability and drive of Stu Atha to walk out the door.

KPax

Very true. But I still think you would need to find someone with an understanding of air power driven by operational experience that would make them a credible source of advice etc here and with allies. That would mean identifying people at 4-ring level and giving them the right jobs thereafter. If you can countenance having a bright engineer as the F35 Force Cdr it might work.

Fortissimo,
I understand your view, but disagree. It is perfectly possible to understand the operational environment (I didn’t use your word, experience) without having been part of operational planning or delivery. Most importantly, CAS is not the RAF’s warfighter, he is the RAF’s strategic leader. My opinion of any previous CAS has not been shaped by how physically brave I perceiive them to be. I would rather have a man who is known for being a great leader, a thinker, and with an ability to influence Main Building.
in other words, I think it would be perfectly reasonable to consider having non-aircrew in the job. There’s a certain Engineer who is about to become a 3 star who could be an excellent future candidate!

Isn’t the Royal Norwegian Air Force CAS an Air Battle Manager? If so, it does support the notion that a non-pilot and a woman can be a chief of an advanced Air Force.

Smaller Air Forces, like the RAF, require larger thinking than was previously the case. And the majority of the ‘warfighting’ is done in Whitehall, which requires a specific skill-set not necessarily related to being able to operate a fast-jet in a combat scenario.

Horses for Courses, although generating the right career path for non-aircrew would be challenging.

Honest questions - are the command opportunities for engineers available to create a CAS? I agree that the next Mil Cap is a great advert for the branch but can’t see the step to 4 star without multiple command opportunities (and therefore experience if only to generate empathy with future subordinates) along the way. Can Rock Apes make it to CAS?

Rock Apes can’t even spell CAS!

And yet I did...

If there is already a non-aircrew type out there who has had experience in command as a flt cdr, sqn cdr, det cdr, CAOC or JFAC cdr, and has high level staff experience in either JHQ or CAS’s outer office then let him or her compete with aircrew to be the next CAS. Somehow I think you will struggle to find someone suitably ‘qualified’. An ABM may get close but the branch is so small that it will only throw up one candidate in every blue moon. The engineer branch is too specialised with its own challenges. It is almost impossible for an engineer to develop the all important operational and war-fighting levels of ‘experience’ without diluting his own specialist skills.

Valid point, Darvan, and I suppose if we consider that CAOC/JFAC/A3 experience is essential, then non-aircrew are unlikely to get a look in. However, my contention is that such experience is essential for the warfighting commander (ie DCom Ops) but not for the strategic commander (ie CAS).

interesting point about command experience. The average aircrew officer will not directly command significant (ie more than say 20) subordinates until they are a wg cdr. His engineer oppo could have commanded 100+ in his very first tour and as an OC Eng could be in charge of 1500.

However, I’m not trying to turn this into an inter-branch p###ing contest. We all want the best man for the job, it just would be nice if the net was cast a bit wider.