RAF Personnel and Training Command
Encyclopedia
Personnel and Training Command (PTC) was one of two commands
of the Royal Air Force
(the other being Strike Command
) that were merged to form Air Command
on 1 April 2007.
. It therefore became responsible for recruiting people into the service, training all members of the RAF (including initial flying training), pay and allowances, and various careers functions including terms and conditions of service, welfare, and resettlement. Principally, PTC consisted of the Personnel Management Agency and the Training Group Defence Agency
(later Training Group).
near Gloucester
from its inauguration until October 2006, when the headquarters co-located with Strike Command at RAF High Wycombe
in Buckinghamshire
in preparation for the merger.
At the time of merger, the Command had a strength of 11,000 RAF personnel, 2,000 contractors and 4,000 civilians. The Air Officer
Commanding-in-Chief of the Command was dual-hatted in the role of Air Member for Personnel. The Command included five Support Units of the Defence Logistics Organisation
, eight RAF stations, 14 units dedicated to the Air Cadets
and University Air Squadron
s, three centres specialising in outdoor activities and no less than 27 Volunteer Gliding School
s.
, Andover, Hampshire; RAF Brampton/Wyton/Henlow, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire; JSU Corsham, Wilts; RAF Cosford
, Wolverhampton; the Royal Air Force College Cranwell
, Sleaford, Lincolnshire; RAF Digby
, Lincoln; RAF Halton
, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; Headley Court, Epsom, Surrey; RAF Innsworth
, Gloucester; RAF Linton-on-Ouse
, York; RAF Scampton
, Lincs; RAF Sealand
, Deeside, Flintshire; RAF Shawbury
, Shrewsbury; RAF St Athan, Barry, South Glamorgan; RAF Uxbridge
, Middlesex; RAF Valley
, Anglesey; and RAF Woodvale
, Formby, Liverpool.
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Command (military formation)
A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
of the 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...
(the other being Strike Command
RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...
) that were merged to form Air Command
RAF Air Command
Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training Commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire....
on 1 April 2007.
Formation
PTC was formed in 1994 bringing together the responsibilities of the former RAF Personnel Management Centre and the training functions of RAF Support CommandRAF Support Command
-History:It was formed on 31 August 1973 by the renaming of Maintenance Command, with No. 90 Group being added to it. Its responsibilities included all logistical and maintenance support requirements of the RAF...
. It therefore became responsible for recruiting people into the service, training all members of the RAF (including initial flying training), pay and allowances, and various careers functions including terms and conditions of service, welfare, and resettlement. Principally, PTC consisted of the Personnel Management Agency and the Training Group Defence Agency
Training Group RAF
Training Group of the Royal Air Force was the group that controlled the stations of Personnel and Training Command.- History :It was formed on 1 April 1994 from the AOC Training Units with Personnel and Training Command its controlling formation. On 30 October 2006, Training Group was renamed as...
(later Training Group).
Merge with Strike Command into RAF Air Command
PTC was headquartered at RAF InnsworthRAF Innsworth
Imjin Barracks in Gloucestershire became the home of the Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 2010.The Barracks were named after the Battle of Imjin because of the connection with the Gloucestershire Regiment which formed part of the United Nations contingent in the Korean War, and was...
near Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
from its inauguration until October 2006, when the headquarters co-located with Strike Command at RAF High Wycombe
RAF High Wycombe
RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. Its purpose is to serve the needs of the RAF Air Command, situated on the site. It is also the headquarters of the European Air Group...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
in preparation for the merger.
At the time of merger, the Command had a strength of 11,000 RAF personnel, 2,000 contractors and 4,000 civilians. The Air Officer
Air Officer
An air officer is a Royal Air Force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". The term is also used by many Commonwealth nations who have a similar rank structure to the RAF....
Commanding-in-Chief of the Command was dual-hatted in the role of Air Member for Personnel. The Command included five Support Units of the Defence Logistics Organisation
Defence Logistics Organisation
The Defence Logistics Organisation was a key element of the UK Ministry of Defence, responsible for supporting the armed forces throughout the various stages of an operation or exercise; from training, deployment, in-theatre training and conduct of operations, through to recovery and recuperation...
, eight RAF stations, 14 units dedicated to the Air Cadets
Air Cadet Organisation
The Air Cadet Organisation is the collective name for the UK cadet forces sponsored by the Royal Air Force. The organisation is subordinate to No. 22 Group RAF, with a serving RAF officer as Commandant Air Cadets. The current Commandant is Air Commodore Barbara Cooper CBE...
and University Air Squadron
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which primarily provide basic flying training, force development and adventurous training to undergraduate students at British universities...
s, three centres specialising in outdoor activities and no less than 27 Volunteer Gliding School
Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Volunteer Gliding Squadrons are Royal Air Force Flying Training Units , operating military Viking TX.1 and Vigilant T.1 gliders to train Air Cadets from the Combined Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps....
s.
Location
The Command's stations included Amport HouseAmport House
Amport House, currently the British Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre , is a manor house in the village of Amport, near Andover, Hampshire....
, Andover, Hampshire; RAF Brampton/Wyton/Henlow, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire; JSU Corsham, Wilts; RAF Cosford
RAF Cosford
RAF Cosford is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.-History:...
, Wolverhampton; the Royal Air Force 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...
, Sleaford, Lincolnshire; RAF Digby
RAF Digby
RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station which, since March 2005, has been operated by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of the Intelligence Collection Group. Formerly a training and fighter airfield, it is currently a tri-service military signals installation located...
, Lincoln; RAF Halton
RAF Halton
RAF Halton is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton.-History:...
, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; Headley Court, Epsom, Surrey; RAF Innsworth
RAF Innsworth
Imjin Barracks in Gloucestershire became the home of the Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 2010.The Barracks were named after the Battle of Imjin because of the connection with the Gloucestershire Regiment which formed part of the United Nations contingent in the Korean War, and was...
, Gloucester; RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse near York in Yorkshire, England. It is currently a major flying training centre, one of the RAF's busiest airfields...
, York; RAF Scampton
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Station Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England, near the village of Scampton, on the site of an old First World War landing field.-First World War:...
, Lincs; RAF Sealand
RAF Sealand
RAF Sealand was a former Royal Air Force station in Flintshire, north Wales and operated between 1916 and 2006.Under defence cuts announced in 2004 RAF Sealand was completely closed in April 2006. All remaining RAF units were moved to RAF Leeming...
, Deeside, Flintshire; RAF Shawbury
RAF Shawbury
RAF Shawbury is a Royal Air Force station by the village of Shawbury near Shrewsbury, Shropshire.The station at Shawbury was first used for military flying training in 1917 by the Royal Flying Corps, but it was returned to agricultural use in 1920. In 1938 it was reactivated as a training...
, Shrewsbury; RAF St Athan, Barry, South Glamorgan; RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force station in Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Its grounds covered originally belonging to the Hillingdon House estate, which was purchased by the British Government in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF...
, Middlesex; RAF Valley
RAF Valley
RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with Search and Rescue. Unofficially the motto for RAF Valley is 'One Valley, Training...
, Anglesey; and RAF Woodvale
RAF Woodvale
RAF Woodvale is a Royal Air Force Station located south of Southport, Merseyside in a small town called Formby. Although constructed as an all-weather night fighter airfield for the defence of Liverpool, it did not open until 7 December 1941...
, Formby, Liverpool.
Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief
- 1 April 1994 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew WilsonAndrew Wilson (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir Ronald Andrew Fellowes Wilson KCB AFC FRAes RAF often known as Sir Andrew Wilson and sometimes known informally as Sir Sandy Wilson is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer.-RAF career:...
- 1 May 1995 - Air Marshal Sir David CousinsDavid CousinsAir Chief Marshal Sir David Cousins KCB AFC BA RAF is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:He joined the RAF in 1961 and spent three years at RAF College Cranwell. He then had a number of operational flying tours, initially flying Lightnings in the air defence role in the UK and...
- 7 August 1998 - Air Marshal Sir Anthony BagnallAnthony BagnallAir Chief Marshal Sir Anthony John Crowther "Tony" Bagnall, GBE, KCB, FRAeS is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer and former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.- Flying career :...
- 23 March 2000 - Air Marshal Sir John DayJohn Day (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir John Romney Day KCB, OBE, ADC, BSc is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander and a military advisor to BAE Systems.-Early life and education:...
- March 2001 - Air Marshal Sir Christopher CovilleChristopher CovilleAir Marshal Sir Christopher Charles Cotton Coville KCB BA FCIPD FRAeS RAF is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...
- April 2003 - Air Marshal Sir Joe French
- 6 January 2006 - Air Marshal Barry ThorntonBarry ThorntonAir Marshal Sir Barry Michael Thornton KCB, MSc, CEng, FIMechE, FCMI, FRAeS, RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force.-RAF career:Educated at Baines Grammar School and the University of Nottingham, Thornton joined the Royal Air Force in 1976...
Further reading
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe 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...
, Personnel and Training Command website, accessed 28 May 2008
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