Air Marshal Edward Jackson Stringer, is a retired

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer. From April 2018 to 2021 he served as Director-General of the Defence Academy. He also served as Director-General of Joint Force Development,

Strategic Command The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear de ...

from April 2018 to March 2021. He served as

Assistant Chief of the Air Staff The Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (ACAS) is a senior appointment in the Royal Air Force. The current ACAS is Air Vice-Marshal Suraya Marshall. The post was originally established circa February 1938, but without being made a member of the A ...

from April 2013 to January 2015, and as

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Minist ...

from March 2015 to 2018.

Early life

Stringer studied engineering at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

, and graduated with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

degree in 1985. Later he studied international relations at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 2010.

Military career

Stringer was commissioned into the General Duties Branch of the

on 5 September 1982 as an acting pilot officer. He was regraded to

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

on 15 July 1985 with seniority from 15 April 1984. Following flying training, he was posted to the

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

Force. He then became a

Qualified Weapons Instructor Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI) (''queue-why'') is a qualification given to graduates of the British Armed Forces Qualified Weapons Instructor courses. It is the equivalent to the United States Air Force (USAF) Weapons School Course or United ...

. He was promoted to

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

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 , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

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

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

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 August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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

officer commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

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

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

in 2003. He was advanced to

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

2003 Birthday Honours The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2003 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 2003 for New Zealand. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour. United Kingdom Knight Bachelo ...

. He became Station Commander at

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or more simply RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force 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 19 ...

and then commanding officer of

No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing was a wing of the Royal Air Force. It was stationed at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan controlling RAF operations at the air base there. It was activated on 1 April 2006 as part of a modernisation package to make ...

based at

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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. t ...

, 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 ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Operation in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

(

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations United Nations Security Council, Security Council United Nations Security Council resolution, resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, 1970 and ...

). 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, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in October 2012. On 5 April 2013, Stringer was promoted to

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

and appointed

. In January 2015, he was succeeded in that role by

Rich Knighton Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard John Knighton, (born 1969) is a senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and professional engineer, currently serving as Chief of the Air Staff, the professional head of the RAF, since 2 June 2023. He previously served ...

. In March 2015, he was appointed

. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded a ...

. 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, ask ...

, now

. 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 retired officer in the Royal Air Force, serving as Director-General of Joint Force Development, Strategic Command from 2021 to 2024. Early life and education Gale was educated at Sir Thomas Picton School, a co ...

in April 2021 and retired from the Air Force in August 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)