Michael Stear

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Sir Michael James Douglas Stear
Born (1938-10-11) 11 October 1938 (age 85)
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  Royal Air Force
Years of service 1962–1996
Rank Air Chief Marshal
Service number 5011693
Unit No. 1 Squadron
No. 208 Squadron
Commands held <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air

Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear KCB, CBE, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (born 11 October 1938)[1] is a retired senior commander of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He served as Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe from 1992 to 1996.

Biography

Stear was educated at Monkton Combe School in Somerset, and began his National Service in 1957. From 1959 he attended Cambridge University where he joined the Cambridge University Air Squadron (part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve), being commissioned as an acting pilot officer on 10 May 1961.[2] After completing his degree, he joined the Royal Air Force, and was granted a permanent commission as a pilot officer on 1 October 1962,[3] relinquishing his RAFVR commission the same day.[4]

Stear served as a pilot with No. 1 Squadron after completing flying training, and was promoted to flying officer on 1 April 1963,[5] and to flight lieutenant on 1 January 1964.[6] In 1967 he joined No. 208 Squadron and saw action in the Persian Gulf. In 1969 he began a three-year period of service in the United States Air Force as part of an officer exchange programme. He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1970.[7] On his return to the UK in 1972 he was posted to the Air Secretary's Branch at the Ministry of Defence, and in 1974 was posted to Germany as Officer Commanding No. 17 Squadron. He was promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1974.[8] In 1976, after short-term posting as Officer Commanding No. 56 Squadron at RAF Wattisham, he was appointed Personal Staff Officer to the Chief of Air Staff, Ministry of Defence.

Stear was promoted to group captain on 1 July 1979,[9] and in 1980 returned to Germany as Officer Commanding RAF Gütersloh.[10] In 1982 he became Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations), HQ Second Allied Tactical Air Force, and in 1982, with the advent of the Falklands War, posted as Air Commodore Plans, HQ Strike Command. He was promoted to Air Commodore on 1 July 1983,[11] and to Air Vice-Marshal on 1 July 1985.[12] He served as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No. 11 Group from 1 August 1985[13] until 15 July 1987,[14] then as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (NATO/UK). He was promoted to Air Marshal on 25 October 1989,[15] to serve as AOC No. 18 Group and Commander Maritime Air Eastern Atlantic and Channel.[13] He was promoted to Air Chief Marshal on 27 August 1992,[16] and a year later was appointed Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe.[17]

Stear retired from the RAF on 11 October 1996,[18] and on the same day was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) as a flying officer for a period of four years.[19] He was twice granted an extension of service, first until 10 October 2003,[20] and then until 10 October 2007,[21] when he finally relinquished his RAFVR(T) commission at the age of 68.[22] Stear also maintained his links with the Air Force by becoming President of the Royal Air Forces Association in 1998. In 2000, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant for the County of Devon.[23]

Awards and honours

Stear was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1969, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1982,[24] and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1990.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42465. p. 6768. 15 September 1961.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42830. p. 8807. 9 November 1962.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42830. p. 8809. 9 November 1962.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42999. p. 4409. 17 May 1963.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43213. p. 190. 3 January 1964.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45013. p. 222. 5 January 1970.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46349. p. 7907. 24 September 1974.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47911. p. 9361. 23 July 1979.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49406. p. 8832. 4 July 1983.
  12. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50195. p. 9770. 15 July 1985.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51001. p. 9283. 20 July 1987.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51919. p. 12512. 30 October 1989.
  16. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 53033. p. 14681. 28 August 1992.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 54570. p. 14663. 4 November 1996.
  19. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 54596. p. 15993. 3 December 1996.
  20. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56048. p. 13697. 5 December 2000.
  21. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58238. p. 1645. 6 February 2007.
  22. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59692. p. 2150. 8 February 2011.
  23. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 55845. p. 5188. 11 May 2000.
  24. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49008. p. 7. 11 June 1982.
  25. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51981. p. 2. 29 December 1989.
Military offices
Preceded by Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group
1985–1987		 Succeeded by
Sir Roger Palin
Preceded by Air Officer Commanding No. 18 Group
1989–1992		 Succeeded by
Sir John Harris
Preceded by Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe
1993–1998		 Succeeded by
Christopher Coville
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