Air Chief Marshal

Air Chief Marshal

Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Sir Robert James Michael Alcock GCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 KBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 DSc FEng FIMechE FRAeS (born 11 July 1936), usually referred to as Sir Michael Alcock, is a retired senior Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 commander and an aerospace consultant.

RAF career

Educated at Victoria College, Jersey

Victoria College, Jersey

Victoria College is a fee paying States of Jersey-provided school in membership of the HMC, in St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. The castellated neo-gothic architecture is a landmark overlooking the town.-History:In the 1590s, Laurens Baudains - a wealthy farmer from St...

, Alcock was commissioned in the Technical Branch of the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 in 1959.

By the time of the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, Alcock was Air Officer Engineering at Headquarters Strike Command

RAF Strike Command

The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...

. He was appointed the RAF's Chief Engineer in 1991 and promoted to air chief marshal in 1993. The following year Alcock graduated from Cranfield University

Cranfield University

Cranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...

 before being appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief the newly established Logistics Command

RAF Logistics Command

The Royal Air Force's Logistics Command was a command formed to provide logistics support for the RAF.-History:The Command was formed on 1 April 1994 and its role was to provide logistics support to the RAF...

 on 1 April 1994. The role also carried with it a seat on the Air Force Board

Air Force Board

The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force.Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the Air Force Council, part of the Air Ministry...

 as the Air Member for Logistics and Alcock became the first non-aircrew officer to sit on the Air Force Board. Additionally, Alcock continued to be designated as the RAF's Chief Engineer. Alcock was succeeded by Sir John Allison on 8 March 1996. He retired from the RAF on 25 June 1996 and subsequently worked as an aerospace consultant.