Air Vice Marshal Gary Waterfall (Ret.)

Gary Waterfall retired from The Royal Air Force after 34 years’ service in 2019.  As a pilot, he spent his time with the Harrier Force, but also served with The Red Arrows for the 1997-1999 seasons.  His last flying appointment was in command of Joint Force Harrier Force and Royal Air Force Cottesmore, where he led the Force and the final 16-ship formation into retirement on 15^th December 2010.

In higher command, he led the UK air contribution to Op ELLAMY (the UK contribution to the NATO led campaign in Libya to uphold UNSC resolution 1973), was the deputy commander of the Air Security for the Olympic Games, and led The Typhoon Force before promotion to Air Vice Marshal.  On promotion, he was selected as Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group, responsible for the training, generation and sustainment of the RAF’s Combat Air, ISTAR and Air Command and Control; this included appointment as the National Air Defence Commander, responsible for the security and integrity of UK airspace. His last role was as the Chief of Staff (Operations) at the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters, where he was responsible for the planning and execution of UK Joint global operations.

On leaving the Royal Air Force, he set up and continues to run his own Company, Pegasus Potential Ltd, advising and mentoring across the Aerospace, Defence and Leadership sectors.  He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant to the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire in March 2020, is President of 2248 (Rutland) Air Training Corps, Chair of The Red Arrows Trust, and an Ambassador and befriender for The Royal Air Forces Association.