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Air Commodore Pete Warmerdam joined the Royal Air Force in 1995 after graduating from Leicester University. Following commissioning, he completed flying training and streamed to helicopters. With more than 3,000 flying hours across conventional and Special Forces units, he has supported operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, Libya, East Africa and Afghanistan. He was awarded a Joint Commander’s Commendation for his actions during the Second Gulf War.

As a Flight Commander, he served on 27 Squadron flying Chinook, completing multiple tours in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He later commanded 7 Squadron, which provides intimate Chinook support to UK Special Forces.

His staff appointments have included Crisis Plans within the UK’s overseas command headquarters; regulatory support to current and future Chinook helicopter procurement programmes; and two tours in the Ministry of Defence (Military Strategic Plans and Current Operations). As a Group Captain, he served as the Senior Operator in Joint Helicopter Command, before taking up a post in Washington DC as the Assistant Air and Space Attaché. He was promoted to 1* in September 2024.

Air Commodore Warmerdam attended the Australian Advanced Command and Staff College (2012) and Defence Strategic Studies Course (2025), earning two Master’s degrees. He is also a graduate of the Windsor Leadership Programme. He assumed the role of Defence Adviser in Canberra in March 2026.

Air Commodore Warmerdam is a keen skier and, in what can only be described as a mid-life crisis, took up skydiving (57 mostly successful jumps and counting…). He is appalling at golf but still believes. In his younger days, he was a keen rugby union player; he now watches from the stands. Married to Nicki, who teaches at Canberra Grammar, they have three daughters, all at school in Canberra: India (19), Darcy (17) and Harper (16).