Dawn McCafferty

Dawn McCafferty
Born	Rhondda Valley, South Wales
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	Royal Air Force 1988 – Present Air Cadet Organisation 2012 - Present
Rank	Air Commodore
Commands held	Air Cadet Organisation Royal Air Force

Air Commodore Dawn McCafferty is a British Royal Air Force officer. She took over as Commandant of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets^[1] in August 2012 from Air Commodore Barbara Cooper and will serve until 2020. McCafferty is the only full-time reserve officer to have held the post.

Early life

Born in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales, McCafferty left Wales at the age of six with her family and lived in Wigston Magna, near Leicester, and Kettering before joining the RAF.

Career

McCafferty joined the RAF at the age of 19 for a four-year short service commission as an secretarial officer. She retired as a group captain in 2006 having completed 23 years.

McCafferty's career culminated in her appointment as Inspector of Recruiting for the RAF. She had previously commanded the personnel management squadron at RAF Wittering and the administrative wing at RAF Waddington. She completed staff tours in Command Headquarters and in the Ministry of Defence.

After leaving the RAF in 2006, McCafferty set up and ran the Royal Air Force Families Federation^[2] from its inception in 2007 until 2012.

McCafferty was appointed Commandant Air Cadets in 2012, initially on a four-year appointment. In 2015, it was confirmed that she would continue in the post until 2020 ^[3]

Personal life

McCafferty is married to Paul McCafferty, a retired RAF wing commander. They have a daughter and son.

References

1. "RAF Air Cadets News". 17 October 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
2. "Dawn McCafferty Leaves The RAF Families Federation After 5 Years". COBSEO. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
3. Dawn McCafferty [ComdtAC] (12 September 2015). "Think it's safe to tell you that my request to stay as Comdt until Aug 2020 has been approved..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.