Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star 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 u ...

Gary Martin Waterfall, (born 7 January 1967) is a retired senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer and formerly Chief of Staff (Operations) in the

Permanent Joint Headquarters The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headquarter ...

. From July 2014 to April 2016, he was Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group. He also sponsors 2248(Rutland) squadron of the air training corps

RAF career

Waterfall was previously a Harrier pilot and a member of the

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...

display team. He was

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

No. 41 Squadron RAF No. 41 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the RAF's Typhoon Test and Evaluation Squadron ("TES"), based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Its official title is "41 TES". The squadron was formed in 1916 during First World War as part of the Royal ...

from 1 April 2006 to 8 June 2007. On 15 December 2010, Waterfall led the final 16-ship flypast of the Harrier when they were retired from service. On promotion to air commodore in June 2011, he was deployed to NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre 5 to assume command of the UK air contribution to the liberation of Libya, and was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the Operational Honours List in March 2012. From July 2014 to April 2016, he was Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group. In that role, he is also head of the air defence of the United Kingdom. On 28 April 2016, Waterfall handed over the command of No. 1 Group to

Gerry Mayhew Air Marshal Sir Gerard Michael David Mayhew, (born 15 February 1969) is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander Operations, Headquarters Air Command between May 2019 and August 2022. Early life and education Mayhew w ...

. Waterfall was then appointed the Chief of Staff (Operations) in the

with effect from 16 May 2016. Waterfall retired from the RAF on 31 December 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterfall, Gary 1967 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Living people Royal Air Force officers