Air Marshal Leo Davies, AO, CSC. Listen to the reflections of retired Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force

Air Marshal Gavin Neil "Leo" Davies, AO, CSC is a retired Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force.     Born and raised in country Victoria, Air Marshal Leo Davies was attracted to aviation from primary school and consequently pursued the Air Force for pilot training.   He joined the RAAF in 1979, as a navigator and flew P3B and P3C Orions for six years, learning a lot about airmanship and real world maritime operations.   He then retrained as a pilot,  flying F111s of all types. He commanded No. 1 Squadron  and No. 82 Wing.   In Sep 1990, Leo was posted to the 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base to fly F-111D with the USAF and then back to Amberley in Dec 1992.    In 2007, Leo was posted on operational deployment to the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in the Middle East.    Air Marshal Davies was posted as Air Attache to Washington DC in June 2010 and on returning to Australia became Deputy Chief of Air Force in December 2011.  He was promoted into the Chief of Air Force position on 4 Jul 2015.  He retired from the RAAF in 2019.   Air Marshal Davies has been awarded an Officer in the Order of Australia,  a Conspicuous Service Cross, a Singapore Meritorious Service Medal,  the US Legion of Merit - Commander and the French Legion of Honour.   Air Marshal Davies retired in Sep 2019 after 40 years in uniform and he says he owes a heck of a lot to his wife Rhonda, daughter Erin and son Jacob.