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RAF COMMAND
AND ORGANISATION
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Higher Management of the Royal
Air Force - CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is a Department of State, headed by the
Secretary of State for Defence (SofS) who implements national defence
policy and plans the expenditure of the defence budget. The MoD is the
highest level of headquarters for the Armed Forces, both administrative
and operational. All major issues of policy are referred to the SofS or
to one of his three Ministerial colleagues.
-
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
-
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Defence Procurement
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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:

Air Force Board Standing Committee (AFBSC)
Attended by senior RAF
commanders, the AFBSC dictates the policy required for the Royal Air Force
to function efficiently and meet the aims required by the Defence Council
and government. The Chief of the Air Staff is the chairman of the Air Force
Board Standing Committee.
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.

CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF

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.
HQ Air Command was formed
by the amalgamation of HQ Strike Command (RAF High Wycombe) and HQ
Personnel and Training Command (RAF Innsworth) on a single site.
It is likely that the total estimated cost of the removal and transfer
of staff and operations for the collocated RAF Headquarters at High
Wycombe is in the region of £23 million, £6 million is for staff costs,
£3 million of which is identified for staff relocation packages, and £17
million is for operational costs.
Photo Crown
Copyright
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