Stephen Dalton
Encyclopedia
Air Chief Marshal
Sir Stephen Gary George Dalton, KCB
, BSc
, FRAeS
, RAF is the current Chief of the Air Staff and professional head of the Royal Air Force
.
where he studied Aeronautical Engineering, Dalton joined the Royal Air Force
in 1973. As Commander of No. 13 Squadron, Dalton was deployed on Operation Jural which involved flying operations over Iraq
: he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1986. He was given command of RAF's Jaguar
force and became Station Commander at RAF Coltishall
in 1997. Promoted to Air Commodore
he was made Director of the Eurofighter Typhoon
programme at the Ministry of Defence
in 1999. He went on to be Controller of Aircraft
in 2004 and Director General Typhoon from 2006. He was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) at Air Command
and Air Member for Personnel
in 2007 and Chief of the Air Staff in 2009.
In light of the Libyan conflict
Dalton warned that there 'was a heck of a lot to be doing' and that the military was nearing the point of 'exhaustion'. The RAF became the first part of the military to bring in the cuts when it spelled out its plans for 2,700 lay-offs in April 2011, following the Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, admitting that some were likely to be compulsory. Dalton's comments come as the Army and Navy prepare to unveil the process under which they will make 5,000 and 3,300 redundancies respectively.
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 Stephen Gary George Dalton, 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...
, BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
, FRAeS
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
, RAF is the current Chief of the Air Staff and professional head 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...
.
RAF career
Educated at the University of BathUniversity of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
where he studied Aeronautical Engineering, Dalton joined 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...
in 1973. As Commander of No. 13 Squadron, Dalton was deployed on Operation Jural which involved flying operations over Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
: he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1986. He was given command of RAF's Jaguar
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...
force and became Station Commander at RAF Coltishall
RAF Coltishall
The former Royal Air Force Station Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , was a Royal Air Force station, a military airbase, North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, from 1938 to 2006....
in 1997. Promoted to Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
he was made Director of the Eurofighter Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
programme at the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
in 1999. He went on to be Controller of Aircraft
Controller Aircraft
Controller Aircraft or Controller of Aircraft is a senior Royal Air Force appointment which has the responsible for releasing new military aircraft types into service. This is certified by a Controller Aircraft Release or CA Release which certifies the airworthiness of the type of aircraft...
in 2004 and Director General Typhoon from 2006. He was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) at 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....
and 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...
in 2007 and Chief of the Air Staff in 2009.
In light of the Libyan conflict
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
Dalton warned that there 'was a heck of a lot to be doing' and that the military was nearing the point of 'exhaustion'. The RAF became the first part of the military to bring in the cuts when it spelled out its plans for 2,700 lay-offs in April 2011, following the Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, admitting that some were likely to be compulsory. Dalton's comments come as the Army and Navy prepare to unveil the process under which they will make 5,000 and 3,300 redundancies respectively.