Page 12 - GM Wing 2020 Yearbook

From Heywood Sqn to HQ Air Command

An interview with Group Captain Claire O’Grady

Claire joined the Royal Air Force as an Administrative Officer in 1998. As a junior officer she completed
command and staff appointments in the personnel, welfare, discipline, and infrastructure fields before being
deployed on her first operational tour in 2002 to Kosovo. In 2006, she deployed to Baghdad, Iraq where she
worked in the US-led Corps Headquarters as the British Liaison Officer. In 2015 she was promoted to the rank
of Wing Commander and selected for the Advanced Command and Staff College at the UK Defence Academy
where she completed a Masters in Defence Studies. In August 2016 and in October 2018 completed a 7-
month tour in Kabul, Afghanistan in a NATO position advising the Afghan National Army General Staff. On her
return, in July 2019, she assumed the role of Executive Officer to ACOS Training in Number 22 Group and was
selected for promotion to Group Captain the following year and posted in July 2020, within Number 22 Group
as the Senior Air Staff Officer.

Claire is married to Pablo, an RAF Typhoon Pilot and they have a son together called Harry.

Before Claire’s illustrious career within the Royal Air Force, her interest in all things aviation began at 2301
Heywood Squadron.

Can you tell us a about yourself and how you started with the RAFAC?

When I started secondary school, I became aware of the CCF which was
only open to the Boys school and was disappointed that I couldn’t join an
extra-curricular club which offered camps on military bases and outdoor
activities. Having told my parents, my dad told me about the Air Training
Corps and, knowing you had to be 13 years old to join, immediately after
this birthday, in 1993, he took me to 2301 (Heywood) Sqn which was part
of East Lancashire Wing at the time. I recall being shown around the Sqn
by one of the Sgt’s and learning all about the activities during parade
night, sport you could take part in and the camps to RAF stations. That
was it, I was sold and enrolled when I turned the mandatory age of 13
years and 3 months.

Over the 5 years I was in the Air Training Corps, I went on Easter and
Summer Camps to a variety of stations in the UK and was fortunate enough to be selected for an overseas
camp in Gibraltar. During my time in the Cadets, I completed my Gold Duke of Edinburgh, represented the
Corps at Swimming, achieved my Basic Glider Training course, was awarded the Queen Ann Vase as the
Regional Winner of the Dacre Brooch competition and achieved a Sixth Form Scholarship in the Administrative
(Secretarial) Branch of the Royal Air Force. The only reason I left the Cadets was to pursue my career within
the RAF
From a personal qualities perspective what do you think the RAFAC gave you that has helped you in your
life and career so far?
Without doubt, the Air Training Corps taught me discipline, confidence, teamwork and leadership skills.
Being part of a uniformed organization which demands high standards in terms of uniform and discipline,
instilled through the rank structure and internal parades and competitions, drove the desire to do well and

take pride in the output of our own sqn. We wanted to be the smartest at the Wing competition, be the best
performers at the band competitions and be the best achievers at the competitions which were open to our
sqn. It bonded us all and the NCO’s naturally led the more junior cadets towards those successes. These skills,
developed at such a young age, were invaluable to me as I embarked on my journey in the Royal Air Force .