Air Commodore Russell William "Russ" La Forte, (born 1960) is a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Commandant-General of the

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

from 2010 to 2012, and Commander of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands from 2013 to 2015. Since November 2015, he has been Director of RAF Sport.

Early life and education

Born in 1960 to Edward La Forte, he was educated at Manor Primary School, Didcot, and Wallingford Grammar School,

Wallingford, Berkshire Wallingford () is a historic market town and civil parish located between Oxford and Reading on the River Thames in England. Although belonging to the historic county of Berkshire, it is within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire for admi ...

. He was a member of the Air Training Corps as a teenager. La Forte joined the military after leaving school, rather than attend university. In later life, he studied history through the Open University, a distance learning institution. He graduated in 1994 with a First Class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. He graduated from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in 2001 with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in defence studies.

Military career

In 1978, La Forte joined the

as a gunner. He served tours in West Germany and in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. On 20 May 1982, the then senior aircraftman La Forte was commissioned into the Security Branch of the Royal Air Force as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

with seniority from 25 September 1980. He was promoted to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

on 25 September 1986. As part of the half-yearly promotions, he was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1991. He deployed to Northern Iraq in 1993–94 as part of Operation Southern Watch A wing commander from 1 January 1999, he was promoted to

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

on 1 January 2004 and was appointed Aide de Camp (ADC) to Queen Elizabeth II on 1 November 2007. From 2007 to 2008, he served as

Station Commander 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 ...

of RAF Honington. In 2009, La Forte attended the Higher Command and Staff Course at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. He then served as Commandant-General of the

from February 2010 to January 2012. In December 2011, he was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff Training, HQ No. 22 Group. In March 2013, he was appointed Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands. He was succeeded in that role by Commodore Darren Bone in April 2015. On 10 October 2015, La Forte transferred to the

Royal Air Force Reserve The Regular Reserve is the component of the military reserve of the British Armed Forces whose members have formerly served in the " Regular" (full-time professional) forces. (Other components of the Reserve are the Volunteer Reserves and the Sp ...

in the rank of air commodore. In November 2015, he was appointed Director of RAF Sport and he is based at

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 is also the President of the RAF Mountaineering Association.

Honours

In the 1995 New Year Honours, La Forte was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), in recognition of his service in Northern Ireland the previous year. He was appointed Aide de Camp (ADC) to Queen Elizabeth II on 1 November 2007. He was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Forte, Russell Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the Open University British military personnel of the Sierra Leone Civil War British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Living people People educated at Wallingford Grammar School People from Didcot Royal Air Force personnel of the Iraq War Royal Air Force personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Royal Air Force Regiment officers Royal Air Force airmen 1960 births