Garry Tunnicliffe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1988–present |
| Rank | Air Vice Marshal |
| Commands held | RAF Halton |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Royal Victorian Order |
Air Vice-Marshal Garry Tunnicliffe, CB , CVO (born 14 October 1966) is a senior Royal Air Force officer who served as Defence Services Secretary from 2016 to 2019.
Tunnicliffe was educated at Devonport High School for Boys, Durham University (BA History and Politics, 1988) and King's College London (MA Defence Studies, 2001). [1] [2] [3]
Tunnicliffe joined the Royal Air Force on 14 August 1988. [4] He became head of the RAF's Team of Management Consultants in 2006, station commander at RAF Halton in December 2008, [5] and Assistant Chief of Staff, Training at No. 22 Group in December 2012. [6] He went on to be Head of Armed Forces Remuneration at the Ministry of Defence in 2014, [7] and became Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel) as well as Defence Services Secretary on 27 June 2016. [8] [9] Tunnicliffe was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for his services as Defence Services Secretary on 27 March 2019. [10] He became Deputy Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies on 26 April 2019. [11]
Tunnicliffe was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2022 Birthday Honours. [12]
Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving Marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, Charles, Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank in recognition of his support for his mother, the Queen, in her capacity as head of the armed forces (commander-in-chief), while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the secretary of state for defence and the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The chief of the defence staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the ministry's senior civil servant. The chief of the defence staff is the British equivalent position of what in NATO and/or European Union countries is known as the chief of defence.
The Defence Services Secretary is a senior member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
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