Air Chief Marshal

Air Chief Marshal

Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Sir

Sir

Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...

 David Cousins KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 AFC

Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)

The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...

 BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 RAF is a retired senior Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 commander.

RAF career

He joined the RAF in 1961 and spent three years at RAF College Cranwell

RAF Cranwell

RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...

. He then had a number of operational flying tours, initially flying Lightnings

English Electric Lightning

The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...

 in the air defence role in the UK and RAF Germany and then Buccaneers

Blackburn Buccaneer

The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British low-level subsonic strike aircraft with nuclear weapon delivery capability serving with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force between 1962 and 1994, including service in the 1991 Gulf War...

 for RAF Germany. In 1983 he became Station Commander at RAF Laarbruch

RAF Laarbruch

The former Royal Air Force Station Laarbruch, more commonly known as RAF Laarbruch ICAO EDUL was a Royal Air Force station, a military airbase, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands...

, home to two RAF Regiments flying Jaguars

SEPECAT Jaguar

The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force...

 and Tornados

Panavia Tornado

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...

.

Since then he has had a number of staff appointments in air plans, operational requirements and operations. Following attendance at the Royal College of Defence Studies

Royal College of Defence Studies

The Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom...

, he held a number of senior air rank positions on the Air Staff at the Ministry of Defence, in the MoD Procurement Executive

MoD Procurement Executive

The MoD Procurement Executive was the acquisition organisation of the Ministry of Defence.The Procurement Executive was established on 2 August 1971 as a single procurement agency for all three services with Derek Rayner as the first Chief of Defence Procurement...

, as Commandant of the RAF College Cranwell

Royal Air Force College Cranwell

The Royal Air Force College is the Royal Air Force training and education academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to be commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is responsible for all RAF recruiting along with...

 and, from 1994, as Air Officer Commanding No. 38 (Transport) Group

No. 38 Group RAF

No 38 Group RAF was formed on 6 November 1943 from nine squadrons as part of Fighter Command. It was finally disbanded on 1 April 2000.-History:...

. He was appointed Air Member for Personnel

Air Member for Personnel

The Air Member for Personnel is the senior Royal Air Force officer who is responsible for personnel matters and is a member of the Air Force Board...

 on the Air Force Board and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Personnel and Training Command in May 1995 and served in that role until he retired in August 1998.

Since he retired he has served as Honorary Air Commodore of No 7630 (Volunteer Reserve) Intelligence Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force

Royal Auxiliary Air Force

The Royal Auxiliary Air Force , originally the Auxiliary Air Force , is the voluntary active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service...

 since August 2008: the unit provides support for intelligence analysis and briefings. He has also served as the controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund

RAF Benevolent Fund

The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund is the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to serving and former members of the RAF - regardless of rank - as well as their partners and dependents.They help members of the RAF family deal with a wide...

.