David Evans ( RAAF officer ) Air Marshal David Evans , AC , DSO , AFC ( born Selwyn David Evans on 3 June 1925 ) is a retired senior commander of the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) , and a writer and consultant on defence matters . He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1982 until 1985 . Since leaving the RAAF he has published two military treatises , " A Fatal Rivalry : Australia ' s Defence at Risk " and " War : A Matter of Principles " , as well as an autobiography . Enlisting in the Air Force in 1943 , Evans graduated from flying school as a sergeant pilot , and was converting to Beaufort bombers when World War II ended . He gained his commission as a pilot officer in 1947 . From 1948 to 1949 , he was a member of the Australian contingent operating C - 47 Dakota transports in the Berlin Airlift . He was a flying instructor in the early 1950s , before becoming a VIP captain with the Governor - General ' s Flight in 1954 . His service in the flight earned him the Air Force Cross in 1957 . In the 1960s Evans was twice posted to No . 2 Squadron , flying Canberra jet bombers : first as a flight commander when the unit was based in Malaysia from 1960 to 1962 and then as its commanding officer during the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968 . The Canberras achieved a high degree of accuracy on their bombing missions under his leadership , and he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order after completing his tour in Vietnam . Evans held senior staff positions in the early 1970s , before serving as Officer Commanding RAAF Base Amberley from 1975 until 1977 . Promoted to air vice marshal , he then became Chief of Air Force Operations . In this role he worked to improve the RAAF ' s strategy for the defence of Australia , to fully exploit the " air - sea gap " on the northern approaches to the continent . Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1981 , he was Chief of Joint Operations and Plans for the Australian Defence Force before his promotion to air marshal and elevation to Chief of the Air Staff in April 1982 . As head of the Air Force he focussed on morale , air power doctrine , and improving defensive capabilities in northern Australia . He was raised to Companion of the Order of Australia in 1984 . Retiring from the RAAF in May 1985 , Evans began to write and lecture on defence matters , and also stood for election in Federal politics . He was a board member and defence advisor to British Aerospace Australia ( later BAE Systems Australia ) from 1990 to 2009 , and chairman of the National Capital Authority from 1997 until 2003 . In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for his services to the ADF and the Canberra community . Early career . Selwyn Evans , known by his middle name of David , was born in the Sydney suburb of Paddington on 3 June 1925 . The son of policeman Selwyn Douglas Evans and his wife Eileen , David was educated at Marist Brothers College in Mosman . A schoolboy when war was declared , he avidly followed reports of Allied fighter aces during the Battle of Britain , and resolved that , once he was old enough , he would serve as a pilot . He subsequently became one of the earliest recruits to the Air Training Corps , established in 1941 to facilitate basic training for youths aged 16 to 18 whose ambition was to become aircrew in the Royal Australian Air Force . After spending a short time as a bank clerk , Evans duly enlisted in the RAAF on 5 June 1943 . He received instruction under the Empire Air Training Scheme , firstly at No . 2 Initial Training School in Bradfield Park , Sydney , then at No . 5 Elementary Flying Training School in Narromine , New South Wales , and finally at No . 8 Service Flying Training School in Bundaberg , Queensland . After graduating as a sergeant pilot , he was posted in October 1944 to the flying staff of No . 1 Air Observer School at Evans Head , New South Wales . Promoted to flight sergeant , Evans was in the middle of a Bristol Beaufort light bomber conversion course at No . 1 Operational Training Unit in East Sale , Victoria , when the war ended on 14 August 1945 . His Air Force career should have finished then and there , as he was slated for demobilisation along with thousands of other wartime enlistees . Evans , however , was determined to remain and travelled to RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne to take his case to the officer responsible for discharges . He found a sympathetic ear and within days was transferred to No . 38 Squadron , with which he flew C - 47 Dakota transports on a regular courier service to Japan between October 1945 and May 1948 . Evans was commissioned as a pilot officer on 3 March 1947 , becoming the most junior name in the 1947 " Air Force List " of serving officers according to seniority . On 23 August 1948 he married Dorothy ( Gail ) Campbell , the daughter of a Merchant Navy captain ; the couple had three daughters and a son . They had planned to wed on 29 August but had to bring the ceremony forward when Evans was selected to take part in Australia ' s contribution to the Berlin Airlift . Having been promoted to flying officer , he departed Sydney on 28 August , bound for London . From there he joined RAAF Squadron Berlin Air Lift — which comprised crews from Nos . 36 and 38 Squadrons and was based in Lubeck , West Germany — and over the next 14 months flew over 250 sortie s in Royal Air Force Dakotas . Airlift operations were considered particularly challenging , as aircraft were expected to fly on instruments their entire route , often in inclement weather , and keep just three minutes separation . On one occasion , Evans and his crew discovered that boxes of condom s were their main cargo . According to Air Force historian Alan Stephens , " as they took off into a bleak , snow - filled night they found themselves questioning the worth of the sortie , an attitude which doubtless was not shared by the eventual recipients " . Evans ' worst moment was when one of his engines failed just after take - off , with 23 passengers — mostly children — aboard , but he was able to land safely . Returning to Australia in November 1949 , Evans was posted to Central Flying School ( CFS ) at RAAF Base East Sale , Victoria , where he qualified as a flying instructor . He served in this capacity for the next four years , including an exchange posting with the Royal New Zealand Air Force from May 1951 to July 1953 . As he was preparing to depart New Zealand , he received word that his next posting would be to the Korean War as a pilot with No . 77 Squadron ; however the prevented this and he returned to No . 38 Squadron as an instructor . In 1954 he was assigned to transporting VIPs , serving with the Governor - General ' s Flight ( later No . 34 ( Special Transport ) Squadron } until 1956 . As well as Governor - General Sir William Slim and Lady Slim , his passengers included Prime Minister Robert Menzies and Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh . Promoted to squadron leader , Evans ' service with the VIP flight earned him the Air Force Cross in the Queen ' s Birthday Honours promulgated in the " London Gazette " on 13 June 1957 . The same year , he attended RAAF Staff College at Point Cook , Victoria . He became personal staff officer to the Minister for Air in 1958 , a position he found valuable for the insight he gained into Australia ' s political culture . In November 1959 , he took a refresher course at CFS , qualifying on De Havilland Vampire and English Electric Canberra jets . He underwent further training on Canberra bombers with No . 1 Operational Conversion Unit at RAAF Base Amberley , Queensland , graduating in May 1960 . From then until 1962 he served as a flight commander in No . 2 Squadron , operating Canberras out of RAAF Base Butterworth , Malaysia . He subsequently attended the RAF College of Air Warfare . In January 1963 , Evans was transferred to Air Staff Division , Canberra , where he helped formulate operational requirements for a new RAAF bomber . His final specification included a payload of , speed of Mach 2 , and range of . This requirement was met by the General Dynamics F - 111C , 24 of which were ordered by the Australian government in October 1963 . As an interim measure until delivery of the F - 111 , the US government offered 24 Boeing B - 47 Stratojet s to the RAAF . Though the offer was never seriously considered , a B - 47 was test flown from Amberley to Darwin in November 1963 by the Chief of the Air Staff , Air Marshal Val Hancock , with Evans as passenger . Evans had been assigned to fly the plane but was replaced at the last moment by Hancock ; the take - off almost ended in disaster after Hancock unknowingly switched off the engines ' water injection — needed to ensure sufficient thrust in hot conditions — that Evans had switched on before vacating the pilot ' s seat . In January 1965 , Evans was posted to Washington , DC , as Assistant Air Attaché , having " had quite enough of writing Air Staff Requirements " . Vietnam War and senior command . In April 1967 , the Australian government committed No . 2 Squadron and its Canberra bombers to action in the Vietnam War . Operating from Phan Rang Air Base outside Saigon , under the direction of the US 35th Tactical Fighter Wing ( TFW ) , the Canberras were initially engaged in medium - altitude missions against Viet Cong forces , guided by Sky Spot ground radar , usually at night . Promoted to wing commander , Evans assumed control of the squadron in December 1967 . Having never heard a shot fired in anger in his 24 years of service , he was anxious for a combat assignment . The Japanese surrender in August 1945 had prevented him from seeing action in World War II , and the Korean War had ended just as he was on the verge of a posting for active duty with No . 77 Squadron . " Vietnam " , he reasoned , " would be my last chance " . By the time he took command , the Canberras were flying a greater proportion of their missions at lower levels in daylight , using visual bomb - aiming methods honed during their earlier service in Malaysia ; this gave the bombers an average circular error probability ( CEP ) of 50 metres . Evans introduced intensive post - mission analysis to refine their technique , and permitted his pilots to bomb at the lowest level possible at which the bombsight would operate . The CEP was eventually reduced to 20 metres , making the Canberras the most accurate bombing force in the region . In January 1968 , the unit participated in the air campaigns to defend Huế and Khe Sanh during the Tet Offensive . Phan Rang itself was often subjected to harassing attacks and mortar fire from the Viet Cong , requiring Evans to undertake improvements to the airfield ' s ground defences . He completed his posting to Vietnam in November 1968 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his performance as commanding officer of No . 2 Squadron . The decoration was gazetted on 2 May 1969 and backdated to 13 March . Evans was promoted to group captain in January 1969 and appointed Director of Air Force Plans . In this position he proposed and organised the gift of 23 of the RAAF ' s old CAC Sabre s to the Indonesian Air Force , following an earlier presentation of 10 Sabres to the Royal Malaysian Air Force . He completed studies at the Royal College of Defence Studies , London , in 1972 . Returning to Australia , he was promoted to air commodore and appointed Director - General Plans and Policy , Air Force , in January 1973 . He served as Officer Commanding RAAF Base Amberley from February 1975 until April 1977 . In this role he qualified as a pilot on the recently delivered F - 111C swing - wing bomber , as well as the UH - 1 Iroquois helicopter . Following his tour as Amberley base commander , Evans was promoted to air vice marshal and became Chief of Air Force Operations ( CAFOPS ) . He held this newly created position for the next two years , broken by a temporary posting as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff between January and August 1978 . As CAFOPS , Evans played a major part in developing the RAAF ' s plans for the defence of Australia . Following America ' s announcement in the 1969 Guam Doctrine that its allies would have to assume greater self - reliance in their military affairs , Australia ' s strategic thought underwent a change from its earlier policy of " forward defence " to a more localised defensive posture . While the consensus among RAAF planning staff was to adopt a " repulsion " concept of attacking an enemy force along the air and sea approaches to northern Australia , Evans considered that this did not go far enough in exploiting the long - range offensive capabilities of such aircraft as the F - 111 . Convinced that Australia ' s numerically small forces would be hard - pressed to dislodge an invader that had gained a foothold on the continent , he refined the " repulsion " stance into what he termed an " anti - lodgement " strategy , focussing on defeating the enemy at its potential staging bases north of Australia and then , as a last resort , on the approaches closer to home . The Air Force ' s role in shaping an overall strategy that took advantage of the " air - sea gap " was later acknowledged in the Federal government paper " The Defence of Australia 1987 " . Evans was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1981 for his achievements as CAFOPS . In 1980 , Evans was appointed Chief of Joint Operations and Plans for the Australian Defence Force ( ADF ) . He was promoted to air marshal and became Chief of the Air Staff ( CAS ) on 21 April 1982 , succeeding Air Marshal Sir Neville McNamara . As CAS , Evans took steps to enhance discipline , bearing and morale in the Air Force , demanding high personal standards . He sponsored the development of an Australian air power doctrine , eventually published as the " Air Power Manual " under one of his successors , Air Marshal Ray Funnell , in 1990 . Evans also commissioned a marching tune especially for the RAAF , later to be called " Eagles of Australia " , to replace the Royal Air Force march that had been in use previously . As early as 1969 , he had advocated permanently basing a squadron of fighter aircraft at RAAF Tindal in the Northern Territory . Tindal was one of a series of forward air bases initiated by Air Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger when he was CAS in 1959 , but a defence committee decision prior to Evans becoming CAS had determined to locate the RAAF ' s northernmost fighter squadron at Darwin . His chance remark in mid - 1982 to the new Minister of Defence , Ian Sinclair , regarding the suitability of Tindal over Darwin led to the former base being chosen as the home of No . 75 ( Fighter ) Squadron . Alan Stephens described the permanent manning of Tindal as having " formalised the shift to the strategy of defence - in - depth — of defending Australia by controlling its air - sea gap " . Late in 1983 , Evans selected the site for the last of the Air Force ' s northerly " bare bases " , RAAF Scherger , near Weipa on Cape York Peninsula . For his service as CAS , he was raised to a Companion of the Order of Australia on 11 June 1984 . On 2 May 1985 , he became the first serving member of the ADF to be invited to speak at the National Press Club in Canberra . During his speech he reiterated the need for Australia to acquire an airborne early warning capability to enhance the effectiveness of the soon - to - be - delivered F / A - 18 Hornet multirole fighter , declaring that " Jindalee is not sufficient " . Later that month two Hornets , whose acquisition Evans had supported while CAFOPS , were handed over to No . 2 Operational Conversion Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown , New South Wales , following a record non - stop flight from Naval Air Station Lemoore in California . Evans had pushed for the long - distance flight , employing a McDonnell Douglas KC - 10 tanker to refuel the Hornets in flight , to demonstrate the RAAF ' s capability and the benefit of tanker aircraft . Six Mirage fighters from No . 77 Squadron intercepted the Hornets and the KC - 10 and escorted them to their landing at Williamtown , an action the CAS considered " icing on the cake — a touch of class " . Later career . Evans retired as CAS on 30 May 1985 , having flown in excess of 8 , 600 hours during his RAAF career . He was praised by his successor , Air Marshal Jake Newham , for his " extraordinary zeal and robustness " that helped instil " a renewed sense of pride in the Service " . In retirement Evans became a consultant on defence and aviation matters , and wrote and lectured extensively on air power . As a visiting fellow at the Australian National University ' s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in 1986 , he produced a working paper focussing on the RAAF ' s concept of operations , " Air Operations in Northern Australia " . The same year , he was publicly critical of the Federal government ' s Dibb Report , claiming that while it contained " sensible policy for the defence of Australia " , it did not recognise the ADF ' s offensive capabilities : " People win wars by taking the initiative . In war the aim must be to win . . . . If you are a small force you cannot afford to wait , and otherwise you will be defeated . " Evans also stood for political office , running as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Eden - Monaro , New South Wales , in the 1987 Australian federal election . He was competing for the conservative vote with National candidate Peter Cochran , whose party advertising was considered to have outperformed the Liberals ' . The seat was retained by incumbent Labor member Jim Snow . In 1990 , Evans published his critique of Australian defence policies , " A Fatal Rivalry : Australia ' s Defence at Risk " ; he followed this in 2000 with " War : A Matter of Principles " , featuring contributions from senior soldiers and military analysts . Also in 1990 , Evans joined the Board of British Aerospace Australia as a non - executive director , and was later appointed senior defence advisor to BAE Systems Australia , retiring in 2009 . From 1997 until 2003 , he was chairman of the National Capital Authority , and from 1999 until 2003 was national president of the Royal United Services Institute Australia . Evans has been the patron of numerous organisations including the Airfield Defence Guards Association , the Royal Australian Air Force Association ( ACT Division ) , The Celtic Club Australia , and the Royal Australian Air Force Staff College Association . He was one of three former members of Australia ' s Berlin Airlift squadron to be specially honoured by the City of Berlin on the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Blockade in 1998 . In January 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for " service to Australian society through Australian Defence Force and to the Canberra community " . He was chairman of the 60th Anniversary Victory in the Pacific Steering Committee in 2005 . His autobiography , " Down to Earth " , was launched on 19 July 2011 by former Prime Minister John Howard at Old Parliament House , Canberra .