Ray Funnell served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1987 until 1992.
25 Facts About Ray Funnell
1.
2.
Ray Funnell held senior staff posts in the early 1980s.
3.
Ray Funnell retired from the RAAF in October 1992 following his term as CAS, and was founding Principal of the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies from 1994 to 1998.
4.
Raymond George Funnell was born on 1 March 1935 in Brisbane, Queensland, and educated at Brisbane State High School.
5.
Ray Funnell joined the Royal Australian Air Force Air Training Corps in January 1949, and received a flying training scholarship.
6.
Ray Funnell married his wife Suzanne in 1958; the couple had two sons.
7.
Ray Funnell spent much of his early career flying CAC Sabre jet fighters at RAAF Bases Williamtown, New South Wales, and Butterworth, Malaysia, as well as Ubon, Thailand, and Labuan, East Malaysia.
8.
Squadron Leader Ray Funnell attended RAAF Staff College, Canberra, from January to December 1967.
9.
Ray Funnell subsequently served in various staff positions with the RAAF and on exchange with the United States Air Force.
10.
Ray Funnell's tenure witnessed the introduction of the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber to Australian service.
11.
Ray Funnell served as honorary aide-de-camp to Governor-General Sir John Kerr.
12.
Ray Funnell was awarded the National Medal for long service in 1977, and a clasp the following year.
13.
Ray Funnell attended the Royal College of Defence Studies, London, in 1981 and the following year was appointed Director-General of the Military Staff Branch in the Department of Defence, Canberra.
14.
Ray Funnell was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia on 10 June 1985.
15.
On 3 July 1987, Ray Funnell succeeded Air Marshal Jake Newham as Chief of the Air Staff, becoming the first graduate of RAAF College to attain the position; he was the first incumbent to possess a master's degree.
16.
The Air Power Manual, the RAAF's first self-produced treatise on aerial war fighting, was completed by a development team sponsored by Ray Funnell, and published in 1990.
17.
Ray Funnell championed the publication of The Decisive Factor, based on the writings of Air Vice Marshal Henry Wrigley, who was credited with laying the foundations for the RAAF's modern air power doctrine.
18.
Ray Funnell's tenure saw the continuation of a shift in the RAAF's 'centre of gravity' from the south to the north of Australia.
19.
Ray Funnell considered it fitting that the CAS should make the journey, as Stanley Goble had held the same position when he circumnavigated Australia for the first time in 1924.
20.
Ray Funnell was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia on 12 June 1989 for his service as CAS, and awarded the US Commander of the Legion of Merit in 1991.
21.
Ray Funnell retired from the RAAF following completion of his term as CAS on 1 October 1992, and was succeeded by Air Marshal Barry Gration, one of his classmates from the 1953 intake at RAAF College.
22.
In 1993, Ray Funnell became Director of the National Defence College project.
23.
Ray Funnell became a consultant in 1999, and was awarded the Centenary Medal for "humanitarian and defence services" on 1 January 2001.
24.
Ray Funnell publicly disavowed the Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq but, once battle was joined, opposed the withdrawal of troops and cautioned against anti-war demonstrations.
25.
Ray Funnell served as Deputy Chair of the Council for Immigration Services and Status Resolution from 2009 to 2011, and became Deputy Chair of the Federal Minister's Council on Asylum Seekers and Detention in 2012.