Air Marshal Gregory Jack Bagwell, CB, CBE (born 6 October 1961) is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander who served as Deputy Commander (Operations) at RAF Air Command.

Greg Bagwell
Bagwell in 2014
Born (1961-10-06) 6 October 1961 (age 62)
Dartford, Kent, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1981–2016
RankAir Marshal
Commands heldNo. 1 Group
RAF Marham
No. 9 Squadron
Battles/warsGulf War
Operation Ellamy
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire

RAF career edit

Entering the RAF as an aircraftman, Bagwell was commissioned an acting pilot officer on 24 July 1981, with the service number 8027917 into the General Duties (Flying) Branch.[1] He was regraded to pilot officer the following 24 July, with the service number 8027917R.[2] He was promoted to flying officer on 24 July 1983 and to flight lieutenant on 24 January 1987.[3][4] He qualified as a Tornado Pilot, with his 1st operational tour with No. 31 'Goldstars' Squadron, later specialising as a qualified weapons instructor.[5]

Bagwell was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1991.[6] He was promoted to wing commander on 1 January 1997 and became commanding Officer of No. 9 Squadron, serving in operations over Iraq and Kosovo.[7][5] Promoted to group captain on 1 July 2001, he went on to be Coalition Air Operations Chief at the Al Udeid Coalition Air Operations Centre in 2004 and then Station Commander of RAF Marham later that year.[5][8]

Achieving air officer rank on 1 July 2006 with a promotion to air commodore, Bagwell served as Assistant Chief of Staff, Crisis & Deliberate Planning at Permanent Joint Headquarters.[9] Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 Birthday Honours,[10] Bagwell became Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in 2009 in the rank of air vice - marshal, in which capacity he was deployed as the UK's Joint Force Air Component Commander for operations over Libya (Operation Ellamy).[11] On 23 March 2011, Bagwell was quoted by the BBC saying that the Libyan People's Air Force "no longer exists as a fighting force" and that Libyan air defences had been damaged to the extent that NATO forces could now operate over Libyan airspace "with impunity."[12]

Bagwell became Chief of Staff Joint Warfare Development at Permanent Joint Headquarters and then Director Joint Warfare at Joint Forces Command in 2011. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2012 Birthday Honours.[13] He was then appointed Deputy Commander (Operations) at RAF Air Command on 16 April 2013, with the rank of air marshal.[14][15]

References edit

  1. ^ "No. 48716". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 August 1981. p. 10932.
  2. ^ "No. 49090". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 August 1982. p. 11088.
  3. ^ "No. 49455". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 August 1983. p. 11167.
  4. ^ "No. 50841". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 February 1987. p. 2477.
  5. ^ a b c "Air Marshal G J Bagwell CB CBE MSc RAF". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  6. ^ "No. 52591". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 July 1991. p. 10092.
  7. ^ "No. 54642". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 January 1997. p. 217.
  8. ^ "No. 56261". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 2001. p. 7818.
  9. ^ "No. 58034". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 2006. p. 9068.
  10. ^ "No. 58358". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2007. p. 6.
  11. ^ "Libya update". UK Government. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Gaddafi's air force 'defeated'". BBC News. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  13. ^ "No. 60173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2012. p. 2.
  14. ^ "Ups and outs July 2013". Defence Viewpoints. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  15. ^ "No. 60543". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 June 2013. p. 11992.

[1]

Military offices
Preceded by Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group
2009–2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Operations) RAF Air Command
2013–2016
Succeeded by
Stuart Atha
  1. ^ Mackie, Colin (5 October 2023). "Senior Royal Air Force Appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 5 October 2023.