Major General Jürgen Schrödl is the Deputy Chief of Staff Strategic Plans and Policy at the Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. 

Previously, he was serving as the Director for Operations in the Major Directorate-General for the Armed Forces at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin, Germany. 

He was responsible for all Armed Forces Operations including Alliance and Homeland Defence, NATO and National Defence Plans; Joint Targeting, Special Forces, International Crisis Management, Force Planning and Synchronisation, Space and Military Policy for the German Chief of Defence. 

Until April 2024 he held responsibility for the security and defence policy relations to about 150 countries as well as the political mandates for all operations and missions abroad including the evacuation operations in Afghanistan and Sudan. Additionally, he was deeply involved in drafting different national strategies and policy papers of the Federal Ministry of Defence. 

Major General Jürgen Schrödl was born in December 1968, in Regensburg, Germany. He enrolled in the German Armed Forces in July 1988 and subsequently attended the German Air Force Officer Candidate School. He has a Masters Degree in Political Science from the University of Munich. 

From 1993 to 2002 he served as a logistics officer, had an assignment in the 1st Mountain Division and commanded a supply squadron as well as a unit comparable to a logistics battalion. 

In 2002, Major General Schroedl was selected to attend the two year long German Armed Forces General Command and Staff College course, which was followed by one year additional Masters programme at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg. From October 2005, he served as a lecturer for military and security policy at the Bundeswehr General Command and Staff College, where his areas of responsibility included the USA, Great Britain, France, the European Union and NATO. 

During the period 2007 to 2012, he served as an Assistant Branch Chief in the Armed Forces Executive Staff / Central Affairs, before serving at the Supreme Headquarter Allied Powers Europe for three years as Military Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Admiral Stavridis. 

Between 2012 and 2022 he served in different positions in the Directorate-General for Security and Defence Policy at the Federal Ministry of Defence related to operations. Additionally, he served in the Command and Staff College as the Course Director for the Capstone Course and Head Lecturer for Security and Defence Policy. 

Major General Jürgen Schrödl is married to Alexandra, they have a son and a daughter. He enjoys golf, is interested in history, security policy and traveling. Major General Schroedl has been awarded the Bundeswehr Gold Cross of Honour and the NATO Meritorious Service Medal. 

Brought up in Derbyshire and educated at the local comprehensive school, Rich joined the Royal Air Force in 1988 as a University Cadet and studied Engineering at Clare College Cambridge. He spent his early career in frontline roles working on Nimrod Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Tornado and in several roles within the Harrier Force. He served as the Station Commander at Royal Air Force Wittering where he was also the RAF’s Logistics Force Commander.

Rich has held a range of staff appointments in the Ministry of Defence, Air Command and in acquisition and support. He has been closely involved in strategic and capability planning, including as Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Military Capability in the Ministry of Defence and Deputy Commander Capability and People in the Royal Air Force.

As Chief of the Air Staff Rich was responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of all aspects of Royal Air Force operations, people and capability. During his time as Chief of the Air Staff he led the RAF during the most intense period of operational demand on the Service for more than a decade, with the Royal Air Force operating alongside global allies including conducting air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, protecting NATO skies and supplying much-needed aid to Gaza and Ukraine.

He has completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies and the UK Pinnacle Course. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers, holds an Honorary Doctorate from Derby University and is an Honorary Fellow of Clare College Cambridge. He is an ambassador for the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust and the Royal Air Forces Association. He was appointed to the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath as a Commander (CB) in 2017 and as Knight Commander (KCB) in 2023.

On 27 June 2025 The Prime Minister announced that Sir Rich will be the next Chief of the Defence Staff from September 2025.

Jim Hockenhull left the British military in June 2026 after a career spanning more than 40 years, including over 10 years deployed on operations. His final appointment was as the Commander of Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, (formerly UK Strategic Command) responsible for UK Special Forces, Cyber Operations, Military Intelligence and Global Operations.

As a career intelligence officer he led Defence Intelligence, served on secondment with the Foreign Office and on exchange with the US Army.
Honours and awards include MBE, OBE, QCVS and the US Legion of Merit and US Bronze Star. 

Born and educated in Scotland, Air Marshal Tim Jones CBE joined the RAF in 1995 as a pilot. He spent most of his operational career flying the Hercules C-130, including missions in TimorLeste, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and the Falkland Islands. He worked extensively with UK Airborne Forces, participating in operations and large-scale exercises, latterly as an instructor in tactical air mobility disciplines. In 2013, Jones served in the British Embassy Kabul in the Strategic Communications role for UK Forces. From 2016 until 2018, he commanded RAF Brize Norton, the RAF’s main air mobility base. His most recent operational experience was in 2020 as Head of RAF operations in the Middle East.

In staff appointments, Jones has occupied roles concerned principally with the planning of future front-line capability. From 2007 onwards, he spent three tours in the Ministry of Defence and two tours in the RAF’s Headquarters conducting capability and resource planning. This included devising the RAF’s Strategic Workforce Plan during the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, and supporting the RAF’s participation in the 2021 Integrated Review. He was Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Capability and Force Design) during the 2025 Strategic Defence Review. A graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies, he also spent two years as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, in which he led on the RAF’s international engagement.

He was appointed to his current role as Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Force Development) in September 2025. 

Air Vice-Marshal Mark Ridgway grew up in North London and joined the Royal Air Force in 1999, commissioning as an Intelligence Officer.

His staff tours to date have included in the Permanent Joint Headquarters, in the Air Warfare Centre, in 11 Group at Air Command, in the United States Central Command and in various professional roles across the RAF, Joint, Defence and international organisations. He has also had the privilege of commanding in single Service, Joint, pan- Defence, and multi-national entities. Mark has further deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the wider Middle East.

Following a tour as Commander of the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence, he became Director Defence Futures on promotion to Air Vice-Marshal in October 2024. Mark is a graduate of the UK Advanced and Higher Command and Staff Courses and an alumnus of the Windsor Leadership Trust.

Academically, Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics from the University of Nottingham and three Master’s degrees in: Terrorism Studies from the University of St Andrews; Defence Studies from Kings College, London; and Leadership and Management from the University of Portsmouth. The latter was conducted under a Chief of the Air Staff's Fellowship and focused on leadership of military and civil servant analysts. He subsequently completed a Doctorate in Business Administration under a further CAS Fellowship, studying empowerment and mission command in the Information Age military. Mark is a strong advocate of lifelong learning, diverse perspectives and empowered innovation.

In his spare time he enjoys running, reading and piano playing.

Joshua Kennedy-White is Chief Commercial Officer at IN2, a private intelligence company working across cognitive domain operations, defence and national security. A practical technologist with 30 years’ experience across government, security and private capital, he built the Australian Government’s countering violent extremism capability and led Accenture’s security business across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. His current work focuses on cognitive advantage for the warfighter, including secure LLM development, virtual environments and deployable emerging technology for frontline operators. He holds board and advisory roles across cyber, space and AI, and is a Global Ambassador for The HALO Trust.

George Carter is CEO and Strategy Partner at Darter and a specialist in defence digital transformation, AI and data strategy. He has worked across the RAF, MOD and industry, shaping digital strategy and supporting organisations to respond and adopt to emerging technologies at scale. George brings a practical perspective on how AI, data and digital capability can deliver operational advantage in future defence environments. 

Professor Tim Dafforn has been the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) at the UK Ministry of Defence since July 2025. He is a Professor of Biotechnology and previously held roles as Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Birmingham, and vice president and trustee of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. He is also currently a member of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). His fundamental research interests focus on the application of nanotechnology to enhance the exploitation of biomolecules for public good. He is also keenly interested in methods to maximise research impact, having founded two businesses to exploit research carried out within his laboratory. 

Professor Dafforn was previously Chief Entrepreneurial Adviser at the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from November 2016 until October 2017. Prior to this, he was Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Professor Dafforn has also worked closely with previous MOD CSA, Dstl and UKRI to develop the UK’s Engineering Biology Strategy, resulting in a £2 billion commitment from HMG in the next decade. Until recently, he spent six years as a member of the Defence Science Expert Committee, assisting MOD on S&T portfolio development alongside projects on chem-bio resilience, futures and scientific assurance. 

His career includes more than 100 publications and a lifetime research grant capture in excess of £10 million. 

MOD Chief Scientific Adviser

The Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) is MOD’s principal adviser on science and technology, with responsibility for directing research through the MOD’s core science and technology research portfolio. The CSA reports to the Permanent Secretary, and is a member of the Joint Requirements Oversight Committee and the Investment Approvals Committee.