Air Marshal Edward Jackson Stringer, is a 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) an ...

officer. Since April 2018 he has served as Director-General of the Defence Academy. He also served as Director-General of Joint Force Development, Strategic Command from April 2018 to March 2021. He served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from April 2013 to January 2015, and as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) from March 2015 to 2018.

Early life

Stringer studied engineering at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, and graduated with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Ba ...

degree in 1985. Later he studied international relations at King's College London and completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in 2010.

Military career

Stringer was commissioned into the General Duties Branch of the

on 5 September 1982 as an

acting pilot officer Acting pilot officer (A/Plt Off) is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force. Acting pilot officer is not an actual military rank, therefore acting pilot officers are regraded to pilot officer instead of receiving a promotion. Unl ...

. He was regraded to pilot officer on 15 July 1985 with seniority from 15 April 1984. Following flying training, he was posted to the Jaguar Force. He then became a Qualified Weapons Instructor. He was promoted to flying officer on 15 January 1986 with seniority from 15 October 1984, and to flight lieutenant on 15 April 1987. He saw active service in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

of 1990 to 1991. On 1 January 1995, he was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

as part of the half yearly promotions. Between April and September 1999, he was posted to the Gulf as part of

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...

to maintain the

Iraqi no-fly zones The Iraqi no-fly zones conflict was a low-level conflict in the two no-fly zones (NFZs) in Iraq that were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom, and France after the Gulf War of 1991. The United States stated that the NFZs were intend ...

, for which 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 ...

"in recognition of isgallant and distinguished services". Stringer became

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, t ...

No. 54 Squadron, in which capacity he was deployed as Jaguar Force Commander for the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

in 2003. He was advanced to Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Birthday Honours. He became Station Commander at

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

and then commanding officer of No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing based at

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

in 2008. Advanced to

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 ...

in the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

, Stringer was appointed Commandant of the

Air Warfare Centre The Air and Space Warfare Centre (ASWC) is a Royal Air Force research and testing organisation based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. It has a training branch nearby as a lodger unit of RAF Cranwell and other branches elsewhere, including ...

later that year. In this role he was deployed as Air Contingent Commander for the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Operation in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

(

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the Libyan Civil War and adopted on 26 February and 17 March 2011, respectively. These resolutions imposed ...

). He went on to be Liaison Officer to the Chairman of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

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, ...

, in October 2012. On 5 April 2013, Stringer was promoted to air vice marshal and appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. In January 2015, he was succeeded in that role by

Richard Knighton Air Marshal Sir Richard John Knighton, (born 1969) is a senior Royal Air Force officer and engineer. Since May 2022, he has served as Deputy Commander Capability at Air Command. Previously, he served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (2015 ...

. In March 2015, he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations). He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2017 Birthday Honours. On 11 April 2018, he was promoted to air marshal and appointed Director General of the Defence Academy and of Joint Force Development,

Joint Forces Command The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services. History Background In August 2010 the then Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, a ...

, now Strategic Command. He was succeeded in the role of Director General of Joint Force Development, Strategic Command, by

Ian Gale Air Marshal Ian David Gale, is a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He is currently serving as Director-General of Joint Force Development, Strategic Command. Early life and education Gale was educated at Sir Thomas Picton School, a compr ...

in 2021.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, Edward Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of Liverpool Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of the Iraq War Royal Air Force personnel of the Gulf War Living people Alumni of King's College London Year of birth missing (living people)