Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Sir Michael James Douglas Stear, (11 October 1938 – 5 January 2020) was a senior commander of the

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 ...

(RAF). He served as Deputy Commander in Chief,

Allied Forces Central Europe Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004, as part of a reorganisation that reduced the number of NATO Military Command Structure headquarters. ...

from 1992 to 1996.

Early life

Stear was educated at

Monkton Combe School Monkton Combe School is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school), in the village of Monkton Combe near Bath in Somerset, England. History Monkton Combe School was founded in 1868 by the Revd. Francis Pocock, a former curate ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

where he gained his private pilot's licence, and began his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in 1957. From 1959 he attended the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he joined the

Cambridge University Air Squadron Cambridge University Air Squadron, abbreviated CUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Cambridge and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. It is the oldest of 15 University Air Squad ...

(part of the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

), being commissioned as an acting pilot officer on 10 May 1961. After completing his degree, he joined the

, and was granted a permanent commission as a pilot officer on 1 October 1962, relinquishing his RAFVR commission the same day.

RAF career

Stear served as a pilot with No. 1 Squadron after completing flying training, and was promoted to flying officer on 1 April 1963, and to flight lieutenant on 1 January 1964. In 1967, he joined No. 208 Squadron and saw action in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. Awarded the

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air The Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, formerly the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, was a merit award for flying service awarded by the United Kingdom between 1942 and 1994. It was replaced by the Queen� ...

in 1969, Stear began a three-year period of service in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

as part of an officer exchange programme later that year. He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1970. On his return to the UK in 1972 he was posted to the Air Secretary's Branch at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, and in 1974 was posted to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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. 17 Squadron. He was promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1974. In 1976, after short-term posting as Officer Commanding No. 56 Squadron at

RAF Wattisham Royal Air Force Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham was, between 1939 and 1993, the name of a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold W ...

, he was appointed Personal Staff Officer to the Chief of Air Staff, Ministry of Defence. Stear was promoted to group captain on 1 July 1979, and in 1980 returned to Germany as Officer Commanding

RAF Gütersloh Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was constr ...

. In 1982 he became Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations), HQ

Second Allied Tactical Air Force Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) was a NATO military formation under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). 2 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its secto ...

and, with the advent of the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, posted as Air Commodore Plans, HQ Strike Command. Appointed a

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

1982 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

, he was promoted to air commodore on 1 July 1983, and to air vice marshal on 1 July 1985. He served as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No. 11 Group from 1 August 1985 until 15 July 1987, then as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (NATO/UK). He was promoted to air marshal on 25 October 1989, to serve as AOC No. 18 Group and Commander Maritime Air Eastern Atlantic and Channel. Stear was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in the

1990 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1990 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

. He was promoted to air chief marshal on 27 August 1992, and a year later was appointed Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe.

Retirement

Stear retired from the RAF on 11 October 1996, and on the same day was commissioned into the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch), often abbreviated to RAFVR(T), is a Volunteer Reserve element of the Royal Air Force specifically appointed in a cadet training role within the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Members o ...

as a flying officer for a period of four years. He was twice granted an extension of service, first until 10 October 2003, and then until 10 October 2007, when he finally relinquished his RAFVR(T) commission at the age of 68. Stear also maintained his links with the Air Force by becoming President of the

Royal Air Forces Association The Royal Air Forces Association, also known as RAF Association or RAFA, is a British registered charity. It provides care and support to serving and retired members of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth, and to their dependents. The ...

in 1998. In 2000, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant for the County of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. He died on 5 January 2020 at the age of 81.Stear
/ref>

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stear, Michael 1938 births 2020 deaths People educated at Monkton Combe School Alumni of the University of Cambridge Royal Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Deputy lieutenants of Devon 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel