kimerajamm
Joined: 28 Nov 2010
Posts: 785
|
 Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:44 pm Post subject: The position of First Air Member |
 |
|
As the senior officer of the Air Board, Williams held the title of First Air Member, the nascent Air Force initially not being deemed suitable for a "Chief of Staff" appointment equivalent to the Army and Navy.[26] He moved to consolidate the new service's position by expanding its assets and training. Shortly after the AAF's establishment, land was purchased for an air base at Laverton, eight kilometres inland of Point Cook, and in July 1921, Williams made the initial proposal to develop a base at Richmond, New South Wales, the first outside Victoria.[26][27] He also started a program to second students from the Army and Navy, including graduates of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, to bolster officer numbers; candidates reaped by this scheme included future Air Force chiefs John McCauley, Frederick Scherger, Valston Hancock, and Alister Murdoch, along with other senior identities such as Joe Hewitt and Frank Bladin.[26] As a leader, Williams would gain a reputation for strong will, absorption in administrative minutiae and a "somewhat puritanical" nature.[22] He became known throughout the service as "Dicky".[1][28][29]
[edit] Chief of the Air Staff
The position of First Air Member was replaced by Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) in October 1922. Williams would serve as CAS three times over seventeen years in the 1920s and 30s, alternating with Wing Commander (later Air Vice Marshal) Stanley Goble. One motive suggested for the rotation was a ploy by Army and Navy interests to "curb Williams' independence".[30] Instead the arrangement "almost inevitably fostered an unproductive rivalry" between the two officers.[22] Although in a legal sense the Air Board was responsible for the RAAF rather than the Chief of Staff alone, Williams dominated the board to such an extent that Goble would later complain that his colleague appeared to consider the Air Force his personal command.
studio milos
software |
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
