Air Vice Marshal Richard John Bomball, (born 13 October 1937) is a retired

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

officer, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff – Development and former

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...

Early life

Born on 13 October 1937, in

Richmond, Victoria Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 28,587 at the 2021 census, with a m ...

, Bomball was educated at Mentone Grammar School and joined the RAAF on graduation.

Air Force career

* Entered –

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(1956) * Trained at

No. 1 Basic Flying Training School RAAF No. 1 Basic Flying Training School (No. 1 BFTS) was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Along with No. 1 Initial Flying Training School (No. 1 IFTS), it was formed in response to increased demand fo ...

, Uranquinty, New South Wales and No. 1 Applied Flying Training School RAAF,

Point Cook, Victoria Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census. Point C ...

. * Served – No. 25 Squadron, RAAF Pearce, WA (1957–1958), No. 78 Wing, RAAF Butterworth, Malaya (1958–1961), No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit (1964–1969), RAAF Staff College (1969), seconded to

Department of Air The Department of Air is a former Australian federal government department. Created on 13 November 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War, it assumed control of the administration and finance of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF ...

(1969–1973), Joint Services Staff College (1975),

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest lev ...

, London, (1987). * Commanding Officer – No. 3 Squadron, RAAF Butterworth (1973–1974) * Director of Staff – RAAF Staff College (1975–1978) *

Air Attaché The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

– Australian Embassy, Tokyo (1978–1981) * Director of Operational Requirements – Air Force –

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

(1982–1983) * Officer Commanding – RAAF Williamtown, New South Wales (1984–1986) * Chief of Staff – RAAF HQ Support Command (1987–1988) * Promoted to Air Vice Marshal (1988) * Assistant Chief of the Air Staff – Development (1988–1989) * Commandant –

(5 March 1990–1993)

Later life

Following his retirement from the Air Force, Bomball was appointed as the first Chairman of the Board of Newcastle Airport Limited in 1993, when control of the airport was transferred from the Commonwealth to joint control by

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

and

Port Stephens Council Port Stephens Council (also known simply as Port Stephens) is a local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is just north of Newcastle and is adjacent to the Pacific Highway which runs through Raymond T ...

. He served until 2004. In 1994 he was appointed to serve on the Veterans' Compensation Review Committee by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs,

John Faulkner John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating, Rudd and Gillard Governments. After his election to ...

, subsequently co-authoring a report on compensation for veterans and war widows.

Honours

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bomball, Richard 1937 births Living people Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Mentone Grammar School Australian recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Australian Air Force air marshals Australian military personnel of the Malayan Emergency Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air