Air Marshal John Jackson Stringer (born November 1969) 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 August 2022 he has been Deputy Commander,

Allied Air Command The Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) is the central command of all NATO air and space forces and the Commander Allied Air Command is the prime air and space advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it pr ...

Early life and education

Stringer was born in Sale, Cheshire in November 1969. He was educated at

Watford Grammar School for Boys Go Forward with Preparation , established = 1884 ( Single-sex) , type = partially selective academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Ian A. Cooksey , r_head_label = , ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

. He is a graduate of the U.K. Advanced and Higher Command and Staff Courses, the

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 level ...

and holds master's degrees from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

and King's College London.

RAF career

Stringer was commissioned into the

in 1993. After officer and pilot training, he joined the Jaguar Force at

RAF Coltishall Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , is a former Royal Air Force station located North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1938 to 2006. It was a fighter air ...

. A Qualified Weapon Instructor, he flew operationally over Yugoslavia and helped enforce the Northern Iraq No Fly Zone. From 2007 to 2009, Stringer served as air officer commanding No. 29 Squadron RAF, the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit at

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and ho ...

. He spent two years as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff (DACOS) Joint Effects in the J3 Division of the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood. Between October 2012 and September 2014, he commanded RAF Coningsby and its Typhoon Wing. He was posted as Assistant Chief of Staff Operations (ACOS Ops) to Headquarters Air Command in August 2015. He went on to command

No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group is a group within the Royal Air Force, currently based at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Originally formed in 1943, during the Second World War it formed part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF) and was known as No ...

as the UK Air Component Commander between October 2016 and October 2017, and oversaw all air operations in

Operation Shader Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground s ...

. On 11 May 2018, in the

2018 Special Honours As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours and other honours awarded outside the New Y ...

, Stringer was appointed

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 ...

(CBE) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field during the period 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2017". Promoted to Air Vice-Marshal, he served as Chief of Staff at Joint Forces Command (JFC) and subsequently Director of Strategy as JFC evolved into UK Strategic Command, overseeing its work on the 2021 UK Defence and Security Integrated Review. In August 2022, he was promoted to air marshal and was simultaneously appointed Deputy Commander,

. Stringer has over 3000 flying hours, predominantly on single-seat combat aircraft.

Personal life

Johnny is married to Lisa and has two sons. His interests include history, art and literature, food and drink, and road cycling. He is the President of the Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, John Living people 1969 births Royal Air Force air marshals People from Sale, Greater Manchester People educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys Alumni of New College, Oxford Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Alumni of King's College London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel 21st-century Royal Air Force personnel Royal Air Force personnel of the Iraq War Royal Air Force personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military personnel from Manchester