Air Vice-MarshalAir Vice-Marshal is an air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
Richard Frank Garwood CBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:*Calgary Board of Education, public school board for the city of Calgary, Alberta...
DFCThe Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
MAA Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
, was the
Air Officer CommandingAir Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group. An air officer heading a particularly large or important command may be called an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief...
No. 22 (Training) GroupNumber 22 Group is one of only three groups currently active in the Royal Air Force falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel in Air Command. Its current full title is Number 22 Group and it is responsible for RAF training policy and controlling the Royal Air Force...
, and also the Chief of Staff Training in his role as the lead for ‘through-life' training, in the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
. He is now Chief of Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Air Command.
Garwood joined the Royal Air Force in 1979, completing his officer and pilot training at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. Garwood, known as Dick, was posted to II(AC) Squadron at RAF Laarbruch in West Germany during 1990.
Air Vice-MarshalAir Vice-Marshal is an air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
Richard Frank Garwood CBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:*Calgary Board of Education, public school board for the city of Calgary, Alberta...
DFCThe Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
MAA Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
, was the
Air Officer CommandingAir Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group. An air officer heading a particularly large or important command may be called an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief...
No. 22 (Training) GroupNumber 22 Group is one of only three groups currently active in the Royal Air Force falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel in Air Command. Its current full title is Number 22 Group and it is responsible for RAF training policy and controlling the Royal Air Force...
, and also the Chief of Staff Training in his role as the lead for ‘through-life' training, in the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
. He is now Chief of Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Air Command.
Military
Garwood joined the Royal Air Force in 1979, completing his officer and pilot training at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. Garwood, known as Dick, was posted to II(AC) Squadron at RAF Laarbruch in West Germany during 1990. He was soon involved in build-up work for Operation 'Granby', the mobilisation of British forces to be sent to the Middle East after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. During Desert Storm he flew 19 night low-level reconnaissance sorties and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Garwood attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 2003 before deploying to Qatar to become the first post-combat phase Air Component Commander for Op TELIC (Iraq). He returned to the UK in late 2003 to become
Air CommodoreAir Commodore is an air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Force Elements at HQ No. 1 Group. In 2004 he became the Director of Air Staff (DS) in the Ministry of Defence. During this tour he completed the Higher Command and Staff Course. In 2007 he was posted on temporary duty as the Chief of Defence Staff’s Liaison Officer to the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. On return from Washington DC he was appointed as Air Officer Commanding 22 (Training) Group in the rank of
Air Vice-MarshalAir Vice-Marshal is an air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
.
On 16 October 2008, it was announced that Air Vice-Marshal Garwood was to become
Chief of Staff (Operations) Headquarters Air CommandAir Command is the only command currently active in the Royal Air Force.The formation of Air Command was announced to Parliament by the Defence Secretary, Rt Hon Des Browne on 15 March 2007...
, with effect from July 2009. He actually assumed this post in April 2009.