text: ray funnell air marshal raymond george ( ray ) funnell , ac ( born 1 march 1935 ) is a retired senior commander of the royal australian air force ( raaf ) . he served as chief of the air staff ( cas ) from 1987 until 1992 . a graduate of raaf college , he began his career flying cac sabre jet fighters in australia and south east asia in the 1950s and 1960s . from 1972 to 1975 he commanded no. 6 squadron , during which time the general dynamics f - 111c swing - wing bomber entered australian service . he held senior staff posts in the early 1980s . in 1986 , he was promoted to air marshal and became the inaugural vice chief of the defence force . appointed cas in july 1987 , funnell was closely involved in the development and dissemination of air power doctrine . he 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 . since then he has served on various federal government committees on immigration and detention . early career and rise to senior command raymond george ( ray ) funnell was born on 1 march 1935 in brisbane , queensland , and educated at brisbane state high school . he joined the royal australian air force ( raaf ) air training corps in january 1949 , and received a flying training scholarship . in 1951 , aged 16 , he learnt to fly with the royal queensland aero club . in january 1953 he entered raaf college as an air cadet , graduating with distinction in 1956 . he married his wife suzanne in 1958 ; the couple had two sons . 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 . as a flight lieutenant in the early 1960s , he instructed on the de havilland vampire with no. 1 applied flying training school at raaf base pearce , western australia . in 1966 he served as commanding officer of no. 79 squadron at ubon . squadron leader funnell attended raaf staff college , canberra , from january to december 1967 . he subsequently served in various staff positions with the raaf and on exchange with the united states air force . in 1971 he became the first raaf officer to attend the us air war college , and received a master 's degree in political science from auburn university . promoted to wing commander , from 1972 to 1975 he was commanding officer of no. 6 squadron at raaf base amberley , queensland . his tenure witnessed the introduction of the general dynamics f - 111c swing - wing bomber to australian service . on 8 / 9 april 1974 , funnell flew an f - 111 around australia to commemorate the 1924 circumnavigation of the continent by wing commander stanley goble and flight lieutenant ivor mcintyre in a fairey iii seaplane . from 1975 to 1978 he was head of the military planning staff for the australian defence force academy project . he also served as honorary aide - de - camp to governor - general sir john kerr . funnell was awarded the national medal for long service in 1977 , and a clasp the following year . senior command promoted to air commodore , funnell was appointed chief of staff at headquarters operational command in glenbrook , new south wales , in 1979 . he 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 . in november 1983 he was promoted air vice marshal and became chief of air force operations and plans . he was appointed an officer of the order of australia ( ao ) on 10 june 1985 . the same year , he took up the position of assistant chief of the defence force ( policy ) . on 6 june 1986 , he was promoted to air marshal and appointed the first vice chief of the defence force ; the role made him responsible for australian defence force policy and planning , as well as operations . on 3 july 1987 , funnell succeeded air marshal jake newham as chief of the air staff ( cas ) , becoming the first graduate of raaf college to attain the position ; he was also the first incumbent to possess a master 's degree . known for his intellectual curiosity and commitment to the study of air warfare , funnell ordered the establishment in 1989 of a permanent think - tank and educational institution , the air power studies centre ( later the air power development centre ) , and donated the r.g. funnell library to raaf staff college . the air power manual , the raaf 's first self - produced treatise on aerial war fighting , was completed by a development team sponsored by funnell , and published in 1990 . funnell also 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 . as cas , funnell focused on turning the raaf into the " air power element of a cohesive , integrated defence force " . his tenure saw the continuation of a shift in the raaf 's ' centre of gravity ' from the south to the north of australia . raaf base curtin , in north western australia , and raaf base tindal , in the northern territory , were opened and development proceeded on raaf base scherger in far north queensland . at the same time , bases in the south , including point cook , laverton and support units in capital cities , were rationalised . the air force was in the process of re - equipping its mirage iii fighter squadrons with the f / a - 18 hornet when funnell became cas , and he had to contend with a shortage of pilots that was exacerbated by the extra training time required for the new aircraft . in september 1988 , he flew one of the raaf 's recently acquired pilatus pc - 9 turboprop trainers in the bicentenary round australia air race . he 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 . his term coincided with the 1990 – 91 gulf war ; the raaf 's contribution included transporting australian hostages and medical staff from the middle east . funnell was appointed a companion of the order of australia ( ac ) on 12 june 1989 for his service as cas , and awarded the us commander of the legion of merit in 1991 . later life 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 . funnell 's five - year term as cas was the longest since that of air marshal george jones , who served ten years in the post from 1942 to 1952 . in 1993 , funnell became director of the national defence college project . from 1994 until 1998 , he served as the inaugural principal of the australian college of defence and strategic studies , which subsequently evolved into the australian defence college . he became a consultant in 1999 , and was awarded the centenary medal for " humanitarian and defence services " on 1 january 2001 . from 2001 to 2009 , he was a member of the minister 's advisory council on people smuggling , and the immigration detention advisory group ( ) . he 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 . 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 . his recreational activities include motorcycling , photography , walking and bicycling .