Air Commodore R. Shaun Clarke, ONZM (Retd)

Air Commodore Shaun Clarke served 36 years in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) as a pilot, operational commander, and strategist. He has variously worked and travelled through 47 countries and has held 26 military roles, including as Director RNZAF Air Power Development Centre, Chief of Staff for New Zealand’s Joint Forces Command, and as Defence Attaché posted to Canberra and New Delhi. He has led in numerous conflict areas including Iran, Kosovo, and the Solomon Islands. He is a graduate of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Staff College, a Fellow of Australia’s Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, and a Graduate of the UK’s Royal Air Force Air Battle Staff Course. In 2004, Air Commodore Shaun was appointed an Additional Officer to the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for leadership in the Solomon Islands intervention. Since leaving the NZDF, he has completed a five-year tour as CEO for Local Government in New Zealand’s Far North District; and currently holds numerous private sector directorships and proudly remains on the Standing Reserve for the RNZAF. He is author of ‘Strategy, Air Strike and Small Nations’ and has ten other published works to his name on Military Airpower, Strategy, International Relations and Culture.