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 ...

Teofilus Shaende is a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n military officer who is serving as the commander of the

Namibian Air Force The Namibian Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. It was commissioned on 13 March 2005 at Grootfontein Air Force Base. Accessed 2007/07/27 Following the independence of Namibia from South Africa in 1990, the Ai ...

since 2020.

Civilian career

After completing school at Dr. Lemmer High School in Rehoboth, Shaende took employment with the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

as a taxation officer. He resigned to join the military in 1999 as a recruit.

Military career

Shaende joined the

Namibian Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Nami ...

in 1999 and undertook his six–months basic military training at the Osona Military School. After completion he did his private pilot's license at the

Westair WestAir Commuter Airlines (IATA:OE, VB/ICAO WCA, SDU), was a U.S.-based regional airline formed when Stol Air Commuter changed its name in 1978 to WestAir Airlines; it was renamed WestAir Commuter Airlines in 1986. One of the founders was Maur ...

flying training centre and received receiving his pilots wings in the same year. In 2001 he undertook the formative junior officers course in

Okahandja Okahandja is a city of 45,159 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the B1 r ...

at the military school. In 2003 he then went to

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

where he did the conversion and operation flying course with the

Zambian Air Force The Zambia Air Force (ZAF) is the air force of Zambia and the air operations element of the Zambian Defence Force. Following the creation of the Republic of Zambia in 1964, the former Northern Rhodesia Air Force was renamed as the Zambia Air For ...

. In 2004 he did the Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI) course with the Zambian Air Force. In 2005 he was a Captain and appointed as second in command of 23 Squadron. In 2006 he was sent to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in preparation of Namibia's purchase of the F7-FT7 jet aircraft from

Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd., traditionally and more commonly known as Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC), a subsidiary of AVIC, is a Chinese aerospace conglomerate that designs and manufactures combat aircraft and aircr ...

and did the FT-7 & F-7 aircraft ground school training. In 2008 he received a diploma of training in FT & F7 flying course in Namibia after qualifying on the F-7/FT-7 fighter jets, while in 2009 he did the K-8 instructor training. In February 2010 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed as air defence wing commanding officer during the commissioning of the F7 and FT7 fighter aircraft at

Grootfontein Air Force Base The Grootfontein Air Force Base is an air base of the Namibian Air Force in Grootfontein, a town in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. The air base is about south of the center of Grootfontein. It was formerly an air base for the South Africa ...

. Afterwards he was promoted to

Group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) 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 Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

following the reorganization of air force ranks and appointed as Chief of staff: Air operations & training at the air force headquarters. In 2016 after the deployment to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as defence attache of Air Commodore Paavo Kamanya. He was promoted to Air Commodore and appointed as deputy air force commander. On 1 April 2020 he was promoted to

and appointed air force commander. Namibian_Air_Force_K-8

Qualifications

*Certificate in Management Skills New Vision Consultancy * 2012 Diploma in Defence and Security Studies,

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

* 2012 Diploma Defence & Security Management Course,

Defence Academy of the United Kingdom The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom provides higher education for personnel in the British Armed Forces, Civil Service (United Kingdom), Civil Service, other government departments and service personnel from other nations. Structure The ...

* Certificate in Aviation Security Management and Organization,

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

* Certificate in Security Risk & Crisis Management and Bomb Threat Assessment,

* Certificate in Aviation Safety West Side Aviation

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

* 2013 Diploma Defence and Security Management Course, Command and Staff College

* 2014 Strike Operational Conversion,

Karibib Air Force Base Karibib Air Force Base is an air base near the central Namibian town of Karibib. Since 2016, the headquarters of the Namibian Air Force are located here. Air Force Command had previously been at the Grootfontein Air Force Base. See also * * ...

* 2016 Diploma in Security and Strategic Studies, National Defence College

United Republic of Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

* 2016 Diploma in Security and Strategic Studies,

University of Dar Es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

* 2018 Basic Military Law Course, Military School

Honours and decorations

*Commendation Certificate for hard work * NAF Air Cadre Medal

Air Cadre medal * NAF Air Longevity Medal

Air Force Longevity medal * NAF Air Force exemplary medal

Air Force Commander's exemplary medal * NDF 10 years service medal * NDF 20 Years Service medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaende, Teofilus Living people Namibian Air Force air marshals 1977 births University of Zambia alumni University of Dar es Salaam alumni