Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment

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Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment
BDS Awards Ceremony (52637586200) (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Michael Smeath
since May 2022
RAF Regiment
AbbreviationCG RAF Regt
Member of Royal Air Force
Reports to Chief of the Air Staff
FormationJanuary 1942
First holder Claude Liardet

The Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment (CG RAF Regt) is the Royal Air Force commander of the RAF Regiment. The post was established in January 1942 immediately prior to the creation of the RAF Regiment. The first two holders of the post were major-generals in the British Army. From 1948 onward, the Commandant-General has been an RAF officer of air rank and tied to the appointment of the senior RAF Regiment commander. These officers all held the rank of air vice-marshal until 1993 when the post was reduced to air commodore to reflect a general downsizing of both the RAF and the RAF Regiment. In 2022, the appointment was assigned to AVM Michael Smeath CBE, a career RAF Regiment officer who held an external Joint Service appointment with the Service.

Commandants-general

Sources [1] [2]
OrdinalDate of appointmentRank on appointmentName of officerOther duty
1stJanuary 1942Major-GeneralSir Claude Liardet Director-General of Ground Defences at the Air Ministry
2nd1945Major-General A E Robinson [3]
3rd30 June 1948Air Vice-Marshal H T Lydford [4] Inspector of Ground Combat Training
4th26 October 1950Air Vice-Marshal S C Strafford [5] Inspector of Ground Combat Training
5th1 October 1952Air Vice-Marshal Sir Francis Mellersh Inspector of Ground Combat Training
6th23 September 1954Air Vice-Marshal B C Yarde Inspector of Ground Defence
7th12 February 1957Air Vice-Marshal J L F Fuller-Good Inspector of Ground Defence
8th1 March 1959Air Vice-Marshal J H Harris Inspector of Ground Defence
9th5 August 1961Air Vice-Marshal E M F Grundy Inspector of Ground Defence
10th6 January 1962Air Vice Marshal K W Godfrey Inspector of Ground Defence
11th7 January 1963Air Vice-Marshal Sir Bernard Chacksfield Inspector of Ground Defence
12th3 May 1968Air Vice-Marshal B P Young [6] Inspector of Ground Defence
13th6 January 1973Air Vice-Marshal D A Pocock [7] [8] Inspector of Ground Defence
14th3 May 1975Air Vice-Marshal A Griffiths Inspector of Ground Defence – to 1976
Director-General of Security (RAF) – from 1976
15th28 May 1977Air Vice-Marshal B G Lock [9] Director-General of Security (RAF)
16th28 April 1979Air Vice-Marshal H Reed-Purvis [10] Director-General of Security (RAF)
17th4 August 1983Air Vice-Marshal J F G Howe [11] Director-General of Security (RAF)
18th30 August 1985Air Vice-Marshal D B Leech [12] Director-General of Security (RAF)
19th15 December 1987Air Vice-Marshal J H Harris [13] Director-General of Security (RAF)
20th11 January 1990Air Vice-MarshalG C Williams [14] Director-General of Security (RAF)
21st25 January 1991Air Vice-Marshal D R Hawkins (later Hawkins-Leth)
22nd8 March 1993Air Commodore T G Thorn Director of Defence Fire Services
23rdMarch 1995Air Commodore I W P McNeil
24thMay 1999Air Commodore R C Moore
25th1 April 2001Air Commodore N A Bairsto [15]
26thJanuary 2003Air Commodore S Anderton
27thMarch 2005Air Commodore P J Drissell [16] [17]
28th2 January 2007Air Commodore S Abbott [17] Air Officer RAF Police
29th5 February 2010Air Commodore R W La Forte
30thFebruary 2012Air Commodore N Bray
31st13 May 2013Air Commodore A J Hall Air Officer, RAF Police. [18]
32ndApril 2016Air CommodoreR F J Clifford [19]
33rdMay 2019Air CommodoreS M Miller [20]
34thMay 2022Air Vice-Marshal M J Smeath [21] Head of British Defence Staff, United States
UK Defence Attaché to the USA
Director, Global Defence Network, UK Ministry of Defence

References

  1. Barrass, M. B. (2015). "Other RAF Appointments: Commandant-Generals of the RAF Regiment". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. Mackie, Colin (2016). "Royal Air Force Senior Appointments" (PDF). gulabin.com. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. "Major-General Alfred E. Robinson". King's Collections Military Archives. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012.
  4. Barrass, M. B. (2015). "H T Lydford". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  5. Barrass, M. B. (2015). "S C Strafford". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. "No. 44580". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 May 1968. p. 5183.
  7. "No. 45873". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 January 1973. p. 374.
  8. Barrass, M. B. (2016). "D A Pocock". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  9. "No. 47231". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1977. p. 7369.
  10. "No. 47835". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 May 1979. p. 5988.
  11. "No. 49434". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 August 1983. p. 10182.
  12. "No. 50258". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 September 1985. p. 12794.
  13. "No. 51152". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 December 1987. p. 15346.
  14. "No. 52031". The London Gazette . 26 January 1990. p. 1297.
  15. "A History of the Purchase and development of the RAF Regiment Memorial Garden at the National Memorial Arboretum". RAF Regiment Association. 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  16. "No. 57220". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 March 2004. p. 2669.
  17. 1 2 "Air Rank Appointments List 7/06". Royal Air Force. July 2006. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  18. "No. 60543". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 June 2013. p. 11992.
  19. "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  20. "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  21. "Appointment of Commandant General of the RAF Regiment". Royal Air Force. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.