Air Marshal Gavin Neil "Leo" Davies, (born 5 September 1960) is a retired senior officer of the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
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(RAAF). A
navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
who retrained as a pilot, he joined the RAAF in 1979, commanded
No. 1 Squadron RAAF (2002–03) and
No. 82 Wing RAAF (2004–05), deployed to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
in 2007, and was Australia's air
attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
(2010–11). He served as
Deputy Chief of Air Force
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spa ...
from 2012 to 2015 and succeeded Air Marshal
Geoff Brown as
Chief of Air Force, the professional head of the RAAF, in July 2015. He retired from the RAAF in July 2019.
Early life
Gavin Neil Davies was born on 5 September 1960 in
Kerang, Victoria. In 1979, he joined the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
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(RAAF) as a cadet
navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
.
Military career
Following initial training, Davies was posted to
No. 11 Squadron RAAF at
RAAF Base Edinburgh
RAAF Base Edinburgh is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located in Edinburgh approximately north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and forms part of the Edinburgh Defence Precinct.
The base is primarily home to No 9 ...
in
Edinburgh, South Australia
Edinburgh is an outer northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Salisbury. The suburb was created in 1997, on land straddling Penfield and Salisbury, that was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth Government in 1940 in ord ...
, serving aboard
Lockheed P-3B Orion and later P-3C Orion aircraft. He retrained as a pilot in 1987 and, after completing a conversion course on the
General Dynamics F-111C, was posted to
No. 1 Squadron RAAF at
RAAF Base Amberley
RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located southwest of Ipswich, Queensland in Australia and southwest of Brisbane CBD. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), N ...
in
Ipswich, Queensland, from 1988 to 1990. He was next posted on a three-year exchange with the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
, operating
General Dynamics F-111D aircraft from
Cannon Air Force Base
Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operatio ...
in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
.
Davies returned to Australia in 1993 as Operations Flight Commander for No. 1 Squadron. A posting as Operations Officer with
No. 82 Wing RAAF followed, before he returned to No. 1 Squadron as
executive officer from 1997 to 1998. He graduated from the RAAF Staff Course at
RAAF Fairbairn
Fairbairn (), formerly RAAF Base Fairbairn, is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base, located in Australia's national capital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Over the years the name of the establishment, and t ...
in 1999 and, from 2000 to 2002, served in the Capability Systems division at
Australian Defence Force Headquarters in
Canberra. Davies was again posted to RAAF Base Amberley from 2002, serving as commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron. During his period in command, Davies achieved the milestone of 2000 hours flying the F-111. He served as Staff Officer to the
Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal
Angus Houston
Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2001 and then as the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 20 ...
, in 2004, was posted as officer commanding No. 82 Wing at RAAF Base Amberley from 2004 to 2005, and was Director Combat Capability at RAAF Headquarters from 2006 to 2007. He deployed for service with the
Combined Air Operations Centre
Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) are multinational headquarters for tactical and operational control of NATO Air Forces below the Joint Force Command level''. They operate within the NATO Integrated Air Defense System (NATINADS) framework. ...
later that year, working in support of operations in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
.
Following his return to Australia, Davies became Director General Capability Planning at RAAF Headquarters in 2008.
In the
Queen's Birthday Honours that June, he was awarded the
Conspicuous Service Cross for his "outstanding achievement" while in command of No. 82 Wing. In 2010, he was posted as Australia's air
attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, for which he was awarded the
Officer of the Legion of Merit from the United States government. On his return from the United States, Davies was promoted
air vice marshal and became
Deputy Chief of Air Force
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spa ...
in January 2012.
Davies' "distinguished service" in senior command and staff positions was recognised with his appointment as an
Officer of the Order of Australia in the
2014 Australia Day Honours The 2014 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2014 by the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce.
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day
Australia Day is ...
. The citation described Davies as "the epitome of professionalism who has distinguished himself through exceptional leadership in shaping the Royal Australian Air Force of the future". The following year, he was selected as the next
Chief of Air Force (CAF); the professional head of the RAAF. He was promoted
air marshal and succeeded Air Marshal
Geoff Brown as CAF on 4 July 2015.
Davies was awarded Singapore's
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 Me ...
in October 2016 and, in September 2018, he was appointed an
Officer of the Legion of Honour by the French government.
Davies handed over as Chief of Air Force to Air Marshal
Mel Hupfeld
Air Marshal Melvin Ernest Glanville Hupfeld, (born 7 March 1962) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Air Commander Australia from 2012 to 2014 and was the acting and final Chief Capability Development Gro ...
on 3 July 2019, and retired from the RAAF after a 40-year career.
Personal life
Davies is married to Rhonda. They have two children, a son and a daughter.
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Leo
1960 births
Australian military personnel of the Iraq War
Living people
Officers of the Legion of Merit
Officers of the Order of Australia
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
People from Kerang
Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia)
Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)
Military personnel from Victoria (Australia)
Royal Australian Air Force air marshals