Andrew Pulford

Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Douglas Pulford, KCB CBE ADC (born 22 March 1958) is a senior Royal Air Force officer. A helicopter pilot with operational service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and Iraq, Pulford commanded RAF Odiham and No. 2 Group, and served as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Operations before taking up the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel at Air Command and Air Member for Personnel in 2010. He became Chief of the Air Staff on 31 July 2013.

Early life
Born the son of Douglas and Jean Pulford, Pulford was educated at Magnus Grammar School in Newark.

Service career
Pulford joined the Royal Air Force as an acting pilot officer in January 1977 and spent many of his 5,000 flying hours with No. 18 Squadron. He was regraded to pilot officer in January 1978 and then promoted to flying officer in January 1979 and flight lieutenant in July 1981, seeing service in the Falklands War with C Flight on board RFA Tidespring, while on exchange service with the Royal Navy in 1982. He had an exchange tour with the Royal Australian Air Force between 1985 and 1987. Promoted squadron leader in January 1987 and to wing commander in January 1994, he became Officer Commanding No. 18 Squadron in 1996 and Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) in 1999.

Promoted to group captain in January 2000, he took the Higher Command and Staff Course at Shrivenham in 2001 before becoming Station Commander at RAF Odiham in December 2001 and being deployed as Commander Joint Helicopter Force Headquarters (JHFHQ) for Operation Telic in Iraq. Appointed CBE in the Queens Birthday Honours 2004, he was made Director Air Resources and Plans at the Ministry of Defence in August 2004 and, after being promoted to air commodore in January 2005, he became Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group with the rank of air vice marshal in February 2007.

Pulford then served as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff Operations from September 2008 until his appointment as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel at Air Command and Air Member for Personnel with the rank of air marshal in September 2010.

Pulford was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2013 New Year Honours. He was also promoted to Air Chief Marshal on taking up the appointment of Chief of the Air Staff, in July 2013, the first helicopter pilot ever to be professional head of the Royal Air Force.

Pulford's interests include military history, motorcycling, old cars and sailing.

Family
In 1982 Pulford married Nicola Jane Pearse; they have a son and a daughter.