Higher Management of the Royal Air Force - CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF

• Minister of State for the Armed Forces

• Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement

• Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs

Under the direction of the Defence Council management of the Services is the responsibility of the Service Boards, in the case of the Royal Air Force the Air Force Board is the senior management directorate.

Air Force Board

The routine management of the Royal Air Force is the responsibility of the Air Force Board, the composition of which is as follows:

Decisions made by the Defence Council or the Air Force Board are implemented by the air staff at various headquarters worldwide. The Chief of the Air Staff is the officer ultimately responsible for the Royal Air Force's contribution to the national defence effort. He maintains control through the AOC (Air Officer Commanding), and the staff branches of each of these headquarters.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy KCB CBE DSO BSc(Eng) FRAeS RAF


Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy was born in 1953 and joined the Royal Air Force in 1974 after studying Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College London. He has completed two tours flying the Jaguar in the reconnaissance role, a tour as a Qualified Weapons Instructor on the Hawk, and commanded a Tornado GR1A tactical reconnaissance squadron.

He saw active service with No 13 Squadron during the Gulf War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the Gulf Honours List. He graduated from the Royal Air Force Staff College in 1987, and subsequently filled a staff appointment in the Ministry of Defence before moving to be Personal Staff Officer to the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Strike Command. He was Station Commander Royal Air Force Bruggen in Germany, which at the time was the largest Tornado base in the Royal Air Force, before graduating from the Royal College of Defence Studies in December 1997 and subsequently completing the Higher Command and Staff Course in April 1998.

Air Chief Marshal Torpy was Assistant Chief of Staff J3 (Operations) in the Permanent Joint Headquarters during Operation DESERT FOX in Iraq and Operation ALLIED FORCE, the NATO intervention operation in Kosovo, for which he was made a Commander of the British Empire. He subsequently spent a short time as Director of Air Operations in the Ministry of Defence before taking over as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations).

He became Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group in March 2001. During his time at No 1 Group he commanded the British Forces participating in Exercise SAIF SAREEA II and in 2003 was the UK Air Contingent Commander for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, for which he was awarded the US Legion of Merit for his part in the Coalition operation. He was Deputy Commander-in-Chief Strike Command for one year from July 2003 before being appointed Chief of Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters on 26 July 2004. He was made a Knight Commander of the Bath in January 2005. Air Chief Marshal Torpy became Chief of the Air Staff on 13 April 2006. During his flying career Sir Glenn has amassed some 4300 hours of fast-jet flying.

Air Chief Marshal Torpy is married to Christine, and his interests include golf, hill walking, gardening, military history and cabinet making.





As of 1 April 2007, the Chief of the Air Staff maintains effective command and control of the Royal Air Force by means of Headquarters Air Command located at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.