David Walker (RAF officer)

For other people named David Walker, see David Walker (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with David Allan Walker, also a high-ranking officer in the RAF.

David Walker
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1978 -
Rank	Air Marshal
Commands held	1(F) Squadron RAF Cottesmore 1 Group
Battles/wars	Op VERITAS Op TELIC
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Air Force Cross

Air Marshal David Walker CB CBE AFC is a Royal Air Force officer. He is currently Deputy Commander, Allied Joint Force Command at Brunssum, in the Netherlands, having previously served for over three years as Deputy Commander, Allied Air Component Command at Ramstein in Germany. Prior to that appointment he was Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in the UK.

He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2011 New Year Honours.

Service career

Walker joined the Royal Air Force in 1978 and then completed tours in Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, flying the Harrier and F/A-18 Hornet. After Staff College he commanded 1(F) Squadron, flying operational missions over Iraq and Bosnia, before becoming the Military Assistant to the UK Minister for Armed Forces in the Ministry of Defence, serving the Hon Nicholas Soames MP and Dr John Reid MP.

In January 1999, he attended the UK’s Higher Command and Staff Course before taking command of RAF Cottesmore and the UK Harrier Force. Posted to HQ No 3 Group in August 2001 he spent most of that tour deployed overseas supporting operations in Afghanistan as part of the International Coalition for Op ENDURING FREEDOM. In 2002 he took up the post of Assistant Chief of Staff J3 (Operations) responsible to the UK Commander Joint Operations for the oversight and management of Operation TELIC, the UK contribution to Op IRAQI FREEDOM, as well as oversight of all other UK expeditionary operations.

Appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in October 2003, Walker was responsible for the detailed handling of RAF policy, resource allocation, international relations and change agenda. He was closely involved in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme and bi-lateral relations with NATO and International allies. In April 2005 Walker gained command of No 1 Group with responsibility for the RAF’s fast jet forces as well as their training and operational performance. In April 2006 he assumed full command responsibility for the RAF Support Helicopter Force contribution to the UK Joint Helicopter Command.

In June 2007 he was appointed Deputy Commander, Allied Air Component Command at Ramstein. In July 2010 he was appointed as Director of the Joint US/NATO Ballistic Missile Defence Task Force.^[1]

Education and Personal

Educated at Bristol University (BSc in Geography) and King's College London (MA in Defence Studies), Walker is undertaking a Portal Fellowship for a PhD with King's College London at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

Career Chronology

• Aug 1975: Commissioned^[2]
• Dec 1987: Awarded Air Force Cross^[3] (as Squadron Leader)
• Dec 2001: Appointed CBE^[4] (as Air Commodore)
• Jun 2007: Promoted Air Marshal; appointed Deputy Commander, Allied Air Component Command, Ramstein^[5]
• Dec 2010: Appointed CB^[6]
• Mar 2011: Appointed Deputy Commander, Allied Joint Force Command, Brunssum^[7]

Notes

1. ^ JFC Biography - Dep Cmdr retrieved 17 Jun 2011
2. ^ London Gazette 46721 of 27 Oct 1975, p13544 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
3. ^ London Gazette 51171 of 30 Dec 1987, p24 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
4. ^ London Gazette 56430 of 31 Dec 2001, p6 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
5. ^ RAF Air Rank Appointments List 04/07 of 2 May 2007 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
6. ^ London Gazette 59647 of 31 Dec 2010, p2 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
7. ^ RAF Air Rank Appointments List 09/10 of 17 Nov 2010 retrieved 17 Jun 2011

Military offices
Preceded by Unknown	Station Commander RAF Cottesmore 1999–2001	Succeeded by M J Harwood
Preceded by P O Sturley	Assistant Chief of the Air Staff 2003–2005	Succeeded by Chris Moran
Preceded by Chris Moran	Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group 2005–2007	Succeeded by C N Harper
Preceded by Horst Martin	Deputy Commander, Allied Air Component Command, Ramstein 2007–2010	Succeeded by LTG Friedrich Wilhelm Ploeger
Preceded by New Post	Director Joint US/NATO BMD Task Force, Allied Air Component HQ Ramstein 2010	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by C N Harper	Deputy Commander, Allied Joint Force Command, Brunssum 2011–present	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Walker, David
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