Air Chief Marshal Sir Graham Eric Stirrup GCB, AFC, DSc, FRAeS FCMI RAF (born 4 December 1949), commonly known as Sir Jock Stirrup, is a senior Royal Air Force commander and the current British Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).
RAF career
Stirrup was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and the RAF College Cranwell, where he received his commission in 1970. In the early 1970s, while on loan service with the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, Stirrup flew Strikemasters in the Dhofar War. After he returned to Great Britain in 1975, Stirrup was posted to No. 41 Squadron where he flew the F-4 Phantom. Stirrup went on to serve in an exchange tour in the United States where he continued to fly Phantoms.In 1993 Stirrup attended the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS); his RCDS course colleagues included his current deputy Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman, the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. He was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in 1997, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in 1998 and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Strike Command in 2000.
From September 2001 to January 2002, Stirrup was UK National Contingent Commander for operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1 August 2003 until 13 April 2006 and was appointed CDS on 28 April 2006.
Public comments whilst Chief of the Defence Staff
In June 2007 whilst speaking at Chatham House, Stirrup commented that Western militaries must be prepared to deal with the consequences of global warming.On operations in Afganistan, Stirrup has noted that whilst "the military is a key, an essential element in dealing with those problems, but by and large these problems can only be resolved politically" and that he favoured a pragmatic approach to dealing with former members of the Taliban.
Following Prince Harry's early return from Afghanistan, Stirrup stated that the Prince might only be deployed in future if the risks involved "would be no higher than they would normally be in such circumstances"..
In June 2008, Stirrup made clear his view that the British Armed Forces' were overstretched. Stirrup stated that the Armed Forces did not have the structure or resources to continue fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan unless the British involvement in one of the conflicts was reduced to a small scale.
Honours and memberships
- Stirrup is a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
- Stirrup is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
- Stirrup is a member of the Society of Knights of the Round Table.
References
External links
- Defense News - Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup
- Ministry of Defence - Chief of the Defence Staff
- Clip from The Daily Show
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Last updated on Sunday July 06, 2008 at 18:31:38 PDT (GMT -0700)
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