Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force
British Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer.svg
WORAF insignia
CASWO Jake Alpert 1.jpg
Incumbent
Jake Alpert MBE
since October 2019
Ministry of Defence
StyleWarrant Officer
AbbreviationWORAF
Reports toChief of the Air Staff
AppointerAir Force Board
Term lengthNot fixed,
typically 2–3 years
FormationMay 1996
First holderWO
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force (WORAF) (previously known as the Chief of the Air Staff’s Warrant Officer) is the senior RAF appointment for a warrant officer (WO), and therefore the most senior non-commissioned appointment in the Royal Air Force (RAF).[1] The person holding this military appointment advises the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) on matters concerning airmen and airwomen of the RAF.[1][2] The post was created in 1996 as the Chief of the Air Staff’s Warrant Officer.[1][3] The post was re-titled Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force (WORAF) on 1 July 2021.[4]

List of holders[]

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of office Chief of the Air Staff Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer
1 No image.png MBE, BEM May 1996 January 1998 1 year, 8 months Sir Michael Graydon
Sir Richard Johns
2 No image.png Jim Andrews MBE, BEM January 1998 January 2000 2 years Sir Richard Johns
3 No image.png MBE January 2000 May 2003 3 years, 4 months Sir Richard Johns
Sir Peter Squire
4 No image.png MBE May 2003 November 2006 3 years, 6 months Sir Jock Stirrup
Sir Glenn Torpy 		[5]
5 Warrant Officer Lindsey Morgan (cropped).jpg Lyndsay Morgan MBE November 2006 July 2009 2 years, 8 months Sir Glenn Torpy [2]
6 No image.png Gary Wilcox MBE July 2009 February 2012 2 years, 7 months Sir Stephen Dalton [2]
7 No image.png Graeme Spark MBE February 2012 October 2014 2 years, 8 months Sir Stephen Dalton
Sir Andrew Pulford 		[6]
8 UK military London Pride (Clive Martland cropped) (cropped).jpg Clive Martland MBE
(born 1968) 		October 2014 October 2016 2 years Sir Andrew Pulford
Sir Stephen Hillier 		[1]
9 CASWO Jon Crossley (cropped).jpg Jon Crossley October 2016 October 2019 3 years Sir Stephen Hillier
Sir Michael Wigston 		[1]
10 CASWO Jake Alpert.jpg Jake Alpert MBE October 2019 July 2021 1 year, 9 months Sir Michael Wigston [1][7]
Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force
10 CASWO Jake Alpert.jpg Jake Alpert MBE July 2021 Incumbent 8 months Sir Michael Wigston [1][4]

The Royal Navy equivalent is the Warrant Officer to the Royal Navy (WORN),[8] and in the Royal Marines the Corps Regimental Sergeant Major. The British Army's recent equivalent is the Army Sergeant Major.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer". Royal Air Force website. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Lesley Woods, ed. (27 July 2009). "Welsh Warrant Officer steps down from top job". Royal Air Force website. RAF. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  3. ^ "RAF Halton Hosts the Chief of the Air Staff's Conference for Warrant Officers". RAF Halton website. RAF. 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2010. The conference has taken place annually for the last 12 years, since the post of Chief of the Air Staff’s Warrant Officer (CASWO) was created.
  4. ^ a b "Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force". Royal Air Force Families Federation. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Bob's proud to protect the crown jewels". Ipswich Star. IpswichStar.co.uk. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Airing issues with the boss" (PDF). Navy News. 1 June 2013. p. 37. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. ^ @ChiefofAirStaff (5 October 2019). "Thank you WO Jon Crossley. A brilliant 3 years as Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer. Welcome WO Jake Alpert" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Warrant Officer in a class of his own". Royal Navy website. RoyalNavy.mod.uk. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Janes | Latest defence and security news".
Retrieved from ""