Air Commodore Simon Owen Falla, CBE, DSO (born 1955) is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer. He was Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff Joint Helicopter Command from December 2006 until his retirement in June 2010.[1]
Simon Owen Falla | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 (age 68–69) Derbyshire, East Midlands |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1979–2010 |
| Rank | Air Commodore |
| Commands | RAF St Mawgan (2002–03) RAF Search and Rescue Force (2002–03) No. 7 Squadron (1996–99) No. 78 Squadron (1992) |
| Battles / wars | Falklands War Gulf War |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Service history
edit- 1979 – Joined the Royal Air Force.
- 1980 – Selected for helicopter training.
- 1981 – Joined the newly formed Chinook force, with No. 18(B) Squadron at RAF Odiham.
- 1982 – Sailed with the Task Force during Operation Corporate, flying operational sorties over the Falklands Islands.
- 1983 – Joined No. 7 Squadron's new Chinook Special Forces Flight, flying operationally in Lebanon.
- 1986 – Qualified as a helicopter instructor at RAF Shawbury. Service followed with the Chinook Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Odiham, gaining A2 instructional category and qualified as a helicopter tactics instructor.
- 1989 – Promoted to squadron leader, appointed deputy commander No. 7 Squadron.
- 1990 – Assumed command of Special Forces Flight.
- 1991 – Led Special Forces Flight during Operation Granby over Iraq. Made Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his command of the 6-Chinook SF Flight.
- 1992 – Spent six months as officer commanding No. 78 Squadron RAF, RAF Mount Pleasant.
- 1993 – Appointed the helicopter tactics and trials officer at the RAF Air Warfare Centre.
- 1995 – Following numerous short tours and courses, promoted to wing commander.
- 1996 – Officer commanding No. 7 Squadron RAF (until 1998).
- 1999 – Appointed UK air/joint advisor to the United Arab Emirates Command and Staff College, Abu Dhabi.
- 2001 – Promoted to group captain.
- 2002 – Station commander RAF St Mawgan[2] / Commander RAF Search and Rescue Force (until 2003).
- 2003 – Deputy assistant chief of staff (plans), Joint Helicopter Command.
- 2006 – Promoted to air commodore on appointment as deputy commander and chief of staff, Joint Helicopter Command.[3]
Post RAF
editFalla is currently the training director at Ascent Military Flying Training System.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Ministry of Defence | About Defence | What we do | Air Safety and Aviation | JHC | Air Commodore Simon Owen Falla CBE DSO RAF". Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
- ^ [1] Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Simon Falla – Ascent Flight Training". Ascentflighttraining.net. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.