Gavin Parker

Parker was born on 22 February 1969 in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). He studied physics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1990. He later studied at King's College London, graduating with a Master of Arts degree in defence studies in 2006.^[1]

Parker was commissioned into the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 30 September 1990.^[2] He became Air Officer Scotland and station commander at RAF Leuchars in 2011, Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Policy at the Ministry of Defence in 2013,^[3] and Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group in 2015.^[4] After that he became Head of the British Defence Staff and Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. in August 2017.^[3] Parker was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2019 Birthday Honours,^[5] and retired from the RAF on 29 September 2020.^[6]