Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

Ronald Dick (18 October 1931 – 25 March 2008) was a

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 who served as Head of the British Defence Staff in

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, ...

from 1984 to 1988.

RAF career

Educated at Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School, Dick joined the Royal Air Force as a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

in January 1950. He became officer commanding

No. 9 Squadron RAF Number 9 Squadron (otherwise known as No. IX (Bomber) Squadron or No. IX (B) Squadron) is the oldest dedicated Bomber Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Formed in December 1914, it saw service throughout the First World War, including at the Som ...

flying Vulcan bombers in 1970. He went on to be Junior Air Force Member on the staff of 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 ...

in 1972, Personal Staff Officer to the Deputy

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander i ...

in 1974 and Station Commander at

RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regi ...

in 1978. After that he became Air

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

in 1980 in which role he negotiated US support for British air operations during

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territori ...

in 1982. His last appointments were as Director of Organisation and Establishments in 1983, as Director of Quartering in 1984 and as Head of the British Defence Staff and Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. in 1984 before retiring in 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, Ronald 1931 births 2008 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society People educated at Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Royal Air Force air marshals British air attachés