Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

Jake Alpert, is a senior warrant officer in the

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 ...

serving as

Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force The Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force (WORAF) (previously known as the Chief of the Air Staff’s Warrant Officer) is the senior RAF appointment for a warrant officer (WO), and therefore the most senior non-commissioned appointment in the R ...

since 2019. Therefore, he is the most senior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

in the RAF.

Military career

Alpert joined the

(RAF) in 1988. He completed his first tour while with

No. 15 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 15 Squadron RAF Regiment is a field squadron of the RAF Regiment in the Royal Air Force. Its mission is protection of RAF bases from ground attack. The squadron's headquarters is at RAF Marham, having moved from RAF Honington. History The ...

at RAF Hullavington. Upon completion of the Pre-Parachute Selection Course and the Basic Parachute course, he went on his first operational tour to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He then moved to No. II Squadron RAF Regiment serving with them for 11 years at multiple bases and took on further operational tours. In 2001, he was posted to the RAF Force Protection (FP) Centre on promotion to sergeant. He then completed the All Arms Commando Course and was subsequently awarded the Commandants' Certificate in 2004. He was then assigned to 45 Commando Royal Marines as the troop sergeant. He completed two tours with the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

during that time. In 2008, Alpert was promoted to flight sergeant and rejoined No. II Squadron. He was subsequently deployed back to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick IX as an Intelligence Surveillance Recognition Manager. He was promoted to warrant officer in 2010 and served as the Station Warrant Officer (SWO) at

RAF Shawbury Royal Air Force Shawbury, otherwise known as RAF Shawbury, is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Shawbury in Shropshire in the West Midlands of England. History The First World War The station at Shawbury was first used for military ...

and served as OC FP Training Flight. In 2011, he returned to II Squadron as the

Garrison Sergeant Major A garrison sergeant major (GSM) in the British Army is the senior warrant officer of a garrison and holds the rank of warrant officer class 1. The GSM London District, always a guardsman, holds one of the four most senior WO1 appointments in the ...

(GSM) of

Camp Bastion Camp Shorabak (formerly Camp Bastion) is a former British Army airbase, located northwest of the city of Lashkargah in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The camp was situated in a remote desert area, far from population centres. The camp was built ...

. In 2013, he once again returned to Afghanistan as garrison sergeant major of

Kandahar Air Field Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city Ka ...

. In 2015, Alpert was selected for the RAF's Executive Warrant Officer employment program, while serving as the

station warrant officer The station warrant officer (SWO, often pronounced as a word) is the senior warrant officer on a British Royal Air Force station. The SWO is responsible for discipline and is therefore comparable to the regimental sergeant major in a British Arm ...

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

. He received the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

for his services. In 2017, Alpert was appointed Command Senior Enlisted Leader of Allied Air Command and completed several command courses. In October 2019, he was appointed to his current role of

. Though when first appointed the position was known as the Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer.

Honours and decorations

In 2016, during his time at RAF Halton Alpert was awarded the

. The medal is awarded for "meritorious service by those military members who are of irreproachable character with at least 20 years of service and already hold the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal of their service". In 2019, he was appointed a

Member 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 ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alpert, Jake Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Royal Air Force airmen Warrant Officers of the Royal Air Force British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Royal Air Force personnel of the Iraq War Royal Air Force personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom) Members of the Order of the British Empire