Andrew Pulford

Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford
Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford (shown here with rank of Air Marshal)
Nickname	Andy
Born	(1958-03-22) 22 March 1958
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1977 - present
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	RAF Odiham Joint Helicopter Force, Operation Telic No. 2 Group
Battles/wars	Falklands War Operation Banner Iraq War Operation Telic
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Douglas Pulford, KCB CBE ADC (born 22 March 1958)^[1] is a senior Royal Air Force officer. A helicopter pilot with operational service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and Iraq, Pulford commanded RAF Odiham and No. 2 Group, and served as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Operations before taking up the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel at Air Command and Air Member for Personnel in 2010. He became Chief of the Air Staff on 31 July 2013.^[2]

Early life

Born the son of Douglas and Jean Pulford, Pulford was educated at Magnus Grammar School in Newark.^[1]

Service career

Pulford joined the Royal Air Force as an acting pilot officer in January 1977^[3] and spent many of his 5,000 flying hours with No. 18 Squadron.^[4] He was regraded to pilot officer in January 1978^[5] and then promoted to flying officer in January 1979^[6] and flight lieutenant in July 1981,^[7] seeing service in the Falklands War with C Flight on board RFA Tidespring, while on exchange service with the Royal Navy in 1982.^[1] He had an exchange tour with the Royal Australian Air Force between 1985 and 1987.^[1] Promoted squadron leader in January 1987^[8] and to wing commander in January 1994,^[9] he became Officer Commanding No. 18 Squadron in 1996 and Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) in 1999.^[1]

Promoted to group captain in January 2000,^[10] he took the Higher Command and Staff Course at Shrivenham in 2001 before becoming Station Commander at RAF Odiham in December 2001 and being deployed as Commander Joint Helicopter Force Headquarters (JHFHQ) for Operation Telic in Iraq.^[11] Appointed CBE in the Queens Birthday Honours 2004,^[12] he was made Director Air Resources and Plans at the Ministry of Defence in August 2004 and, after being promoted to air commodore in January 2005,^[13] he became Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group^[14] with the rank of air vice marshal in February 2007.^[15]

Pulford then served as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff Operations from September 2008^[16] until his appointment as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel at Air Command and Air Member for Personnel with the rank of air marshal in September 2010.^[17]

Pulford was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2013 New Year Honours.^[18] He was also promoted to Air Chief Marshal on taking up the appointment of Chief of the Air Staff, in July 2013, the first helicopter pilot ever to be professional head of the Royal Air Force.^[19]

Pulford's interests include military history, motorcycling, old cars and sailing.^[1]

Air Marshal Pulford in combat uniform

Family

In 1982 Pulford married Nicola Jane Pearse; they have a son and a daughter.^[1]

Honours and awards

	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)	2013 New Year Honours[18]
	Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)	2004 Birthday Honours[12]
	General Service Medal
	South Atlantic Medal	with Rosette
	NATO medal for the former Yugoslavia
	Iraq Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012
	Accumulated Campaign Service Medal

References

External links

Media related to Andrew D. Pulford at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Chiefs of the Air Staff Sir Hugh Trenchard Sir Frederick Sykes Sir Hugh Trenchard Sir John Salmond Sir Geoffrey Salmond Sir John Salmond Sir Edward Ellington Sir Cyril Newall Lord Portal Lord Tedder Sir John Slessor Sir William Dickson Sir Dermot Boyle Sir Thomas Pike Sir Charles Elworthy Sir John Grandy Sir Denis Spotswood Sir Andrew Humphrey Sir Neil Cameron Sir Michael Beetham Sir Keith Williamson Sir David Craig Sir Peter Harding Sir Michael Graydon Sir Richard Johns Sir Peter Squire Sir Jock Stirrup Sir Glenn Torpy Sir Stephen Dalton Sir Andrew Pulford

v t e United Kingdom Chiefs of Staff Committee Sir Nick Houghton (Chief of the Defence Staff) Sir Stuart Peach (Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff) Sir George Zambellas (Royal Navy) Sir Peter Wall (Army) Sir Andrew Pulford (Royal Air Force) Sir Richard Barrons (Joint Forces Command)