Air Officer Scotland is the senior Royal Air Force officer in Scotland. Since January 2024, the appointment has been held by Air Commodore Bill Gibson.
In 1962, the Air Officer Scotland assumed responsibility for Northern Ireland, become Air Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. [1]
In December 1994 the AOSNI post departed Pitreavie Castle [1] (the AOC Northern Maritime Air Region post was being disestablished). The station commander of RAF Leuchars became an air commodore with the additional role of being Air Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. [2]
The Royal Navy equivalent is Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland while the British Army equivalent is General Officer Scotland.
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An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth nations who have a similar rank structure to the RAF.
No. 2 Group is a group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was reactivated in 2000, and is today part of Air Command.
The officer ranks of the Royal Air Force, as they are today, were introduced in 1919. Prior to that Army ranks were used.
No. 18 Group of the Royal Air Force was a group active from 1918 to 1919, and from 1938 to 1996.
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Air Vice Marshal Clive Arthur Bairsto is a former Royal Air Force officer and former Air Officer Scotland.
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The Royal Air Force Medical Services is the branch of the Royal Air Force that provides health care at home and on deployed operations to RAF service personnel. Medical officers are the doctors of the RAF and have specialist expertise in aviation medicine to support aircrew and their protective equipment. Medical officers also carry out Aeromedical evacuations, providing vital assistance on search-and-rescue missions or emergency relief flights worldwide.
Royal Air Force Pitreavie Castle or RAF Pitreavie Castle was a station of the Royal Air Force located at Pitreavie Castle in Dunfermline and near Rosyth, Fife, Scotland.
The New Year Honours 1973 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1973 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1973.
Air Commodore Russell William "Russ" La Forte, is a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment from 2010 to 2012, and Commander of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands from 2013 to 2015. Since November 2015, he has been Director of RAF Sport.
Air Vice-Marshal Christopher James Luck is a British charity executive and retired Royal Air Force officer. He was Commandant of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell from 2013 to 2016, and Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College from 2017 to 2019. Since 2019, he has been CEO of the Shaw Trust.
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Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston, is a former senior officer in the Royal Air Force, who served as Chief of the Air Staff from 26 July 2019 until 2 June 2023. He previously served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from 2017 to 2018, and Deputy Commander (Personnel) and Air Member for Personnel and Capability from 2018 to 2019.
Air Marshal Sir Gerard Michael David Mayhew, is a former senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander Operations, Headquarters Air Command between May 2019 and August 2022.
At the end of the Cold War in 1989, the Royal Air Force (RAF) structure was as follows:
Air Vice-Marshal Philip Jeremy Robinson, is a decorated British pilot and senior Royal Air Force officer.
Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer, who has been the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since March 2024. Previously, he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group (2018–2020) and Air and Space Commander (2022–2024). Between February 2020 and August 2022, he took up the new post of Director Space, in the Ministry of Defence.
Air Vice Marshal Ross Paterson, is a Royal Air Force reservist who served as Air Officer Scotland from 2014 to 2024.
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Group Captain (Retired) W R Gibson MBE ADC MA RAFR to be promoted Air Commodore and to be Air Officer Scotland and Aide de Camp to His Majesty The King with effect from January 2024 in succession to Air Vice-Marshal R Paterson CB OBE Royal Air Force Reserves.