Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment

{{Short description|Royal Air Force commander of the RAF Regiment}}

{{Infobox official post

| post = Commandant-General

| body = the RAF Regiment

| native_name =

| insignia =

| insigniasize =

| insigniacaption =

| insigniaalt =

| flag =

| flagsize =

| flagalt =

| flagborder =

| flagcaption =

| image = BDS Awards Ceremony (52637586200) (cropped).jpg

| imagesize =

| alt =

| imagecaption =

| incumbent = Michael Smeath

| acting =

| incumbentsince = May 2022

| department = RAF Regiment

| style =

| type =

| status =

| abbreviation = CG RAF Regt

| member_of = Royal Air Force

| reports_to = Chief of the Air Staff

| residence =

| seat =

| nominator =

| appointer =

| appointer_qualified =

| termlength =

| termlength_qualified =

| constituting_instrument =

| precursor =

| formation = January 1942

| first = Claude Liardet

| last =

| abolished =

| superseded_by =

| succession =

| unofficial_names =

| deputy =

| salary =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

The Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment (CG RAF Regt) is the Royal Air Force commander of the RAF Regiment. The post was established in January 1942 immediately prior to the creation of the RAF Regiment. The first two holders of the post were major-generals in the British Army. From 1948 onward, the Commandant-General has been an RAF officer of air rank and tied to the appointment of the senior RAF Regiment commander. These officers all held the rank of air vice-marshal until 1993 when the post was reduced to air commodore to reflect a general downsizing of both the RAF and the RAF Regiment. In 2022, the appointment was assigned to AVM Michael Smeath CBE, a career RAF Regiment officer who held an external Joint Service appointment with the Service.

Commandants-general

class="wikitable"
+Sources{{cite web \|url=http://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/AirMin3.htm \|title=Other RAF Appointments: Commandant-Generals of the RAF Regiment \|first=M. B. \|last=Barrass \|work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation \|year=2015 \|access-date=17 April 2016}}{{cite web \|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Royal%20Air%20Force%20Senior%20Appointments.pdf \|title=Royal Air Force Senior Appointments \|first=Colin \|last=Mackie \|work=gulabin.com \|year=2016 \|access-date=17 April 2016}}
Ordinal ! Date of appointment ! Rank on appointment ! Name of officer ! Other duty
1st \| January 1942 \| Major-General \| Sir Claude Liardet \| Director-General of Ground Defences at the Air Ministry
2nd \| 1945 \| Major-General \| A E Robinson{{cite web \|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/ROBINSON.shtml \|title=Major-General Alfred E. Robinson \|work=King's Collections Military Archives \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804093100/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/ROBINSON.shtml \|archive-date=4 August 2012 }} \|
3rd \| 30 June 1948 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| H T Lydford{{cite web \|url= http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Lydford.htm \|title=H T Lydford \|first=M. B. \|last=Barrass \|work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation \|year=2015 \|access-date=16 April 2016}} \| Inspector of Ground Combat Training
4th \| 26 October 1950 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| S C Strafford{{cite web \|url= http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Strafford.htm \|title=S C Strafford \|first=M. B. \|last=Barrass \|work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation \|year=2015 \|access-date=16 April 2016}} \| Inspector of Ground Combat Training
5th \| 1 October 1952 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| Sir Francis Mellersh \| Inspector of Ground Combat Training
6th \| 23 September 1954 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| B C Yarde \| Inspector of Ground Defence
7th \| 12 February 1957 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| J L F Fuller-Good \| Inspector of Ground Defence
8th \| 1 March 1959 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| J H Harris \| Inspector of Ground Defence
9th \| 5 August 1961 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| E M F Grundy \| Inspector of Ground Defence
10th \|6 January 1962 \|Air Vice Marshal \| K W Godfrey \|Inspector of Ground Defence
11th \| 7 January 1963 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| Sir Bernard Chacksfield \| Inspector of Ground Defence
12th \| 3 May 1968 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| B P Young{{London Gazette \|issue=44580 \|date=3 May 1968 \|page=5183 \|supp=y }} \| Inspector of Ground Defence
13th \| 6 January 1973 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| D A Pocock{{London Gazette \|issue=45873 \|date=9 January 1973 \|page=374 \|supp=y }}{{cite web \|url= http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Pocock_DA.htm \|title=D A Pocock \|first=M. B. \|last=Barrass \|work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation \|year=2016 \|access-date=16 April 2016}} \| Inspector of Ground Defence
14th \| 3 May 1975 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| A Griffiths \| Inspector of Ground Defence – to 1976 Director-General of Security (RAF) – from 1976
15th \| 28 May 1977 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| B G Lock{{London Gazette \|issue=47231 \|date=3 June 1977 \|page=7369 \|supp=y }} \| Director-General of Security (RAF)
16th \| 28 April 1979 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| H Reed-Purvis{{London Gazette \|issue=47835 \|date=8 May 1979 \|page=5988 \|supp=y }} \| Director-General of Security (RAF)
17th \| 4 August 1983 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| J F G Howe{{London Gazette \|issue=49434 \|date=2 August 1983 \|page=10182 \|supp=y }} \| Director-General of Security (RAF)
18th \| 30 August 1985 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| D B Leech{{London Gazette \|issue=50258 \|date=16 September 1985 \|page=12794 \|supp=y }} \| Director-General of Security (RAF)
19th \| 15 December 1987 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| J H Harris{{London Gazette \|issue=51152 \|date=15 December 1987 \|page=15346 \|supp=y }} \| Director-General of Security (RAF)
20th \| 11 January 1990 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| G C Williams{{London Gazette \|issue=52031 \|date=26 January 1990 \|page=1297 }} \| Director-General of Security (RAF)
21st \| 25 January 1991 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| D R Hawkins (later Hawkins-Leth) \|
22nd \| 8 March 1993 \| Air Commodore \| T G Thorn \| Director of Defence Fire Services
23rd \| March 1995 \| Air Commodore \| I W P McNeil \|
24th \| May 1999 \| Air Commodore \| R C Moore \|
25th \| 1 April 2001 \| Air Commodore \| N A Bairsto{{cite web \|url= http://www.rafregt.org.uk/regiment-info/national-memorial-arboretum/ \|title=A History of the Purchase and development of the RAF Regiment Memorial Garden at the National Memorial Arboretum \|work=RAF Regiment Association \|year=2009 \|access-date=16 April 2016}} \|
26th \| January 2003 \| Air Commodore \| S Anderton \|
27th \| March 2005 \| Air Commodore \| P J Drissell{{London Gazette \|issue=57220 \|date=2 March 2004 \|page=2669 \|supp=y }}{{cite web \|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/03842F2D_1143_EC82_2E9354529F6416D2.doc \|title=Air Rank Appointments List 7/06 \|work=Royal Air Force \|date=July 2006 \|access-date=16 April 2016 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004033615/http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/03842F2D_1143_EC82_2E9354529F6416D2.doc \|archive-date=4 October 2012 \|url-status=dead }} \|
28th \| 2 January 2007 \| Air Commodore \| S Abbott \| Air Officer RAF Police
29th \| 5 February 2010 \| Air Commodore \| R W La Forte \|
30th \| February 2012 \| Air Commodore \| N Bray \|
31st \| 13 May 2013 \| Air Commodore \| A J Hall \| Air Officer, RAF Police.{{London Gazette \|issue=60543 \|date=18 June 2013 \|page=11992 \|supp=y }}
32nd \| April 2016 \| Air Commodore \| R F J Clifford{{cite web \|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/senior-appointments.cfm \|title=Senior Appointments \|work=Royal Air Force \|date=8 February 2016 \|access-date=16 April 2016}} \|
33rd \| May 2019 \| Air Commodore \| S M Miller{{cite web \|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/senior-appointments.cfm \|title=Senior Appointments \|work=Royal Air Force \|date=16 November 2018 \|access-date=19 December 2018}} \|
34th \| May 2022 \| Air Vice-Marshal \| M J Smeath{{cite news\|url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles/appointment-of-commandant-general-of-the-raf-regiment/\|title=Appointment of Commandant General of the RAF Regiment\|publisher=Royal Air Force\|date=4 May 2022\|accessdate=14 July 2022}} \| Head of British Defence Staff, United States UK Defence Attaché to the USA Director, Global Defence Network, UK Ministry of Defence

class="wikitable"

+Sources{{cite web |url=http://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/AirMin3.htm |title=Other RAF Appointments: Commandant-Generals of the RAF Regiment |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation |year=2015 |access-date=17 April 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Royal%20Air%20Force%20Senior%20Appointments.pdf |title=Royal Air Force Senior Appointments |first=Colin |last=Mackie |work=gulabin.com |year=2016 |access-date=17 April 2016}}

Ordinal

! Date of appointment

! Rank on appointment

! Name of officer

! Other duty

1st

| January 1942

| Major-General

| Sir Claude Liardet

| Director-General of Ground Defences at the Air Ministry

2nd

| 1945

| Major-General

| A E Robinson{{cite web |url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/ROBINSON.shtml |title=Major-General Alfred E. Robinson |work=King's Collections Military Archives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804093100/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/ROBINSON.shtml |archive-date=4 August 2012 }}

3rd

| 30 June 1948

| Air Vice-Marshal

| H T Lydford{{cite web |url= http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Lydford.htm |title=H T Lydford |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation |year=2015 |access-date=16 April 2016}}

| Inspector of Ground Combat Training

4th

| 26 October 1950

| Air Vice-Marshal

| S C Strafford{{cite web |url= http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Strafford.htm |title=S C Strafford |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation |year=2015 |access-date=16 April 2016}}

| Inspector of Ground Combat Training

5th

| 1 October 1952

| Air Vice-Marshal

| Sir Francis Mellersh

| Inspector of Ground Combat Training

6th

| 23 September 1954

| Air Vice-Marshal

| B C Yarde

| Inspector of Ground Defence

7th

| 12 February 1957

| Air Vice-Marshal

| J L F Fuller-Good

| Inspector of Ground Defence

8th

| 1 March 1959

| Air Vice-Marshal

| J H Harris

| Inspector of Ground Defence

9th

| 5 August 1961

| Air Vice-Marshal

| E M F Grundy

| Inspector of Ground Defence

10th

|6 January 1962

|Air Vice Marshal

| K W Godfrey

|Inspector of Ground Defence

11th

| 7 January 1963

| Air Vice-Marshal

| Sir Bernard Chacksfield

| Inspector of Ground Defence

12th

| 3 May 1968

| Air Vice-Marshal

| B P Young{{London Gazette |issue=44580 |date=3 May 1968 |page=5183 |supp=y }}

| Inspector of Ground Defence

13th

| 6 January 1973

| Air Vice-Marshal

| D A Pocock{{London Gazette |issue=45873 |date=9 January 1973 |page=374 |supp=y }}{{cite web |url= http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Pocock_DA.htm |title=D A Pocock |first=M. B. |last=Barrass |work=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation |year=2016 |access-date=16 April 2016}}

| Inspector of Ground Defence

14th

| 3 May 1975

| Air Vice-Marshal

| A Griffiths

| Inspector of Ground Defence – to 1976
Director-General of Security (RAF) – from 1976

15th

| 28 May 1977

| Air Vice-Marshal

| B G Lock{{London Gazette |issue=47231 |date=3 June 1977 |page=7369 |supp=y }}