Andrew Turner | |
---|---|
Born | 1967 (age 55–56) |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1985–2022 |
Rank | Air Marshal |
Commands held | No. 22 Group RAF Odiham No. 28 Squadron |
Battles/wars | The Troubles Gulf War Iraq War War in Afghanistan |
Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Air Marshal Andrew Mark Turner, CB , CBE , CCMI (born 1967) is a former senior Royal Air Force officer and helicopter pilot.
Born in 1967, Turner was educated at Kingswood School. [1] He studied at the University of Oxford, University of Exeter, King's College London, Chennai and the Open University: he has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in oceanography and cosmology, a master's degree in international relations, and a master's degree in strategic studies. [2]
Turner joined the Royal Air Force in 1985 and was commissioned as an acting pilot officer in 1986, [3] initially training at RAF Gütersloh. [4] He was promoted to pilot officer in 1987, [5] and further promoted to flying officer in 1987, [6] flight lieutenant in 1991, [7] squadron leader in 1995, [8] and wing commander in 2000. [9] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2003 in recognition of service in the Iraq War also referred to as Operation Telic. [10]
Turner has commanded No. 28 Squadron RAF and RAF Odiham. [1] [11] In July 2014 he went on to be Air Officer Commanding No. 22 Group RAF [12] and Chief of Staff Training at RAF Air Command, [13] [14] in which capacity he also oversaw safety for the Red Arrows. [15] He was Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) from October 2017 to 2019. [16] Turner was promoted to air marshal and appointed as Deputy Commander Capability at RAF Air Command on 23 May 2019. [17]
Turner was appointed as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2010 New Year Honours, [18] and further appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2019 New Year Honours. [19]
In February 2022 Turner was temporarily suspended after complaints from neighbours who told police they had seen him naked in his garden. [20] [21] He was not arrested or charged. [20]
Turner retired from the Royal Air Force on 31 August 2022. [22]
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and then as director-general of military aeronautics and subsequently as controller-general of equipment. In the inter-war years he held command positions in the Middle East, in India and then in Iraq. He served as Chief of the Air Staff in the mid-1930s and in that role he implemented a plan, known as 'Scheme F'. This scheme implemented an increase in the size of the Royal Air Force to 187 squadrons within three years to counter the threat from Hitler's Germany. He also broke up the command known as "Air Defence of Great Britain" to create RAF Fighter Command, RAF Bomber Command, RAF Coastal Command and RAF Training Command. He then served as Inspector-General of the RAF until his retirement in 1940.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Andrew Henry Humphrey, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He fought in the Second World War as a fighter pilot taking part in the Battle of Britain and also took part in the withdrawal from Aden in November 1967. He served as the Chief of the Air Staff advising the new Labour Government on the implementation of their latest Defence Review. He then served as Chief of the Defence Staff but caught pneumonia within three months of taking office and died shortly afterwards.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Forster Dickson,, was a Royal Naval Air Service aviator during the First World War, a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the inter-war years and a Royal Air Force commander during and after the Second World War. Dickson was Chief of the Air Staff in the mid-1950s, in which role his main preoccupation was the establishment of the V Force and the necessary supporting weapons, airfields and personnel. He also served as the first Chief of the Defence Staff in the late 1950s.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was the only officer who fought and commanded a squadron during the Battle of Britain to reach the post of Chief of the Air Staff. In the latter role he implemented the final stages of the RAF's withdrawal from the Persian Gulf and the Far East, oversaw the ordering and subsequent cancellation of the F-111 strike aircraft and handed over Britain's nuclear deterrent role to the Royal Navy.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Denis Frank Spotswood, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He fought in the Second World War as a flying boat pilot and then as a coastal reconnaissance squadron commander during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. He served as a station commander in the late 1940s and early 1950s before becoming a senior air commander in the late 1950s. As the Chief of the Air Staff in the early 1970s he had a major role in implementing the defence savings demanded by the Heath Government in the face of economic difficulties at the time.
Air Marshal Sir Richard Frank Garwood, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer.
Air Marshal Dame Susan Catherine Gray, is a former senior Royal Air Force officer. She served as Director of Combat Air at Defence Equipment and Support in the Ministry of Defence (2014–16), as Air Officer Commanding No. 38 Group (2016–18), and as Director-General of the Defence Safety Authority (2019–22). She is the most senior female officer ever to serve in the British Armed Forces.
Air Chief Marshal Stuart William Peach, Baron Peach, is a British retired senior Royal Air Force officer. After training as a navigator, Peach commanded IX (Bomber) Squadron and then became Deputy Station Commander RAF Bruggen. He was deployed as NATO Air Commander (Forward) in Kosovo in 2000. He went on to be Chief of Defence Intelligence in 2006, Chief of Joint Operations in 2009 and the first Commander of Joint Forces Command in December 2011 before being appointed Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in May 2013. Peach succeeded General Sir Nick Houghton as Chief of the Defence Staff on 14 July 2016. He succeeded General Petr Pavel as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee on 29 June 2018, serving as such until his retirement from NATO in June 2021.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Gary George Dalton, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Air Force and former Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey.
Air Marshal Sir Barry Mark North, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander (Personnel) at RAF Air Command. A helicopter pilot, North has held command appointments at all levels, notably No. 78 Squadron in the Falkland Islands, the Special Forces Flight as a squadron leader and the newly established No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group in the Middle East as an air commodore.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear, was a senior commander of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He served as Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe from 1992 to 1996.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Douglas Pulford, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander. A helicopter pilot with operational service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and Iraq War, Pulford commanded RAF Odiham and No. 2 Group, and served as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Operations, before taking up the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel at Air Command and Air Member for Personnel in 2010. He became Chief of the Air Staff on 31 July 2013, retiring from the Royal Air Force on 12 July 2016.
Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Granville White, was a Royal Air Force air officer. He was a First World War flying ace credited with seven aerial victories, and later went on to serve throughout the Second World War, finally retiring in 1955.
Air Vice Marshal George Stacey Hodson, was an air officer of the British Royal Air Force who began his military career as a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. In the course of his 34 years service, he rose to become a major commander during World War II.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen John Hillier, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Chief of the Air Staff from 2016 to 2019. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions in the Gulf in 1999 and was awarded the United States Bronze Star Medal for service in the Iraq War. He went on to be Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group, Director Information Superiority at the Ministry of Defence, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Capability) and finally Chief of the Air Staff from July 2016. He was appointed chair of the Civil Aviation Authority in 2020.
Air Marshal Sir Frederick Beresford Sowrey, was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Director of Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence from 1968 to 1970, and Commandant of the National Defence College from 1972 to 1975.
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.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard John Knighton, is a senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and professional engineer, currently serving as Chief of the Air Staff, the professional head of the RAF, since 2 June 2023. He previously served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from January 2015 to January 2017, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence, and as Deputy Commander Capability at RAF Air Command. Knighton is notable for being the first Chief of the Air Staff who is not a military pilot or indeed aircrew-qualified.
Air Marshal Sir Julian Alexander Young, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who served as Chief of Materiel (Air) at Defence Equipment and Support, concurrently holding the appointments of Air Member for Materiel on the Air Force Board and Chief Engineer (RAF).
Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer, who currently serves as the Air and Space Commander. From July 2018, he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group. Between February 2020 and August 2022, he took up the new post of Director Space, in the Ministry of Defence.