Brigadier General Paul Tedman CBE

Brigadier Paul Tedman was commissioned into the Army Air Corps (AAC) in 1997 and awarded his Army flying badge in 1999. Regimental Duty included flight command in the newly formed 16 Air Assault Brigade, service in Northern Ireland and assignment to 657 Squadron AAC (2000 to 2004), Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) - where he exercised worldwide and deployed on operations in the Balkans, Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq. Subsequently, he completed a short exchange in the US with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. On promotion to Major he was appointed SO2 Joint Effects in the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (2006 to 2008), a period dominated by a year in Afghanistan on the staff of HQ ISAF IX. He subsequently assumed command of 661 Squadron AAC (2008 to 2010) serving in Iraq (TELIC 13) and Afghanistan (HERRICK 11/Op MOSHTARAK). He then returned to JSFAW as the Deputy Commander (2010 to 2011).

On promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and graduation from the Advance Command and Staff Course, he assumed command of 1 Regiment AAC (2012-2015). During his command he served in Afghanistan as Deputy Commander Joint Aviation Group (HERRICK 18) and relocated the Regiment from Germany to RNAS Yeovilton to transition on to the Wildcat Reconnaissance Helicopter. He was subsequently SO1 Strategy (2015 to 2016) at Army HQ, contributing to the Army’s SDSR 15 proposition and resultant restructuring.

Promoted to Colonel in 2016, Tedman assumed command of the Aviation Reconnaissance Force (2016 to 2019) and oversaw aviation operations in Northern Ireland and the delivery of Army Wildcat to readiness. He also led on Army Aviation’s conceptual and physical development, including deployment on Ex WARFIGHTER 19-4.

He promoted to Brigadier and took up appointment as Deputy Commander Joint Helicopter Command in October 2019, overseeing Defence’s battlefield helicopter capability. And on 1 Apr 2020 he assumed inaugural command of 1st Aviation Brigade, which he built from first principles and delivered to IOC.

He is assigned to US SPACECOM as the Deputy Director Strategy, Plans and Policy (J5) in Sep 2021.

Brigadier Tedman has a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and a master’s degree in Defence Studies. He was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service (QCVS) in 2003 for service in Iraq, a second QCVS in 2013 for service in Afghanistan, and he was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2020. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is married to Sabine, and they live in Somerset with their two young daughters and two Dachshunds