Air Commodore Simon Strasdin CBE MA

ISTAR Force Commander RAF

Air Commodore Simon Strasdin joined the RAF in March 1992 as a Navigator. He has flown over 3700 hours and completed multiple flying tours, operating the Tornado GR1/4 and the F15-E Strike Eagle. As a Qualified Weapons Instructor he has completed 13 operational tours of duty throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan. Staff assignments have included: Equipment Capability (Air to Surface Weapons); Joint Capability Development; Defence Reform (2011 - Lord Levine Review); Assistant to Chief of Defence Staff’s Liaison Officer to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Pentagon); Military Aviation Authority Oversight and Assurance; and Programme Director - Lossiemouth Development Programme. Simon completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course in 2010, gaining an MA in Defence Studies, and Higher Command and Staff Course in 2022. In 2018 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work in Aviation Safety and in 2022 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) following a period of deployed operations in the Middle East. Simon has completed command appointments at squadron, Expeditionary Air Wing and Expeditionary Air Group levels, prior to taking his current appointment in June 2022 as the Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Force Commander, based at RAF Waddington. Simon is married to Andrea and they have two children; hobbies include amateur small-holder, enthusiastic DIYer, hiking, cycling, gardening and looking after pet dogs, sheep and horses.