Marshal of the Royal Air Force Graham Eric Stirrup, Baron Stirrup, (born 4 December 1949), informally known as Jock Stirrup, is a former senior Royal Air Force commander who was the Chief of the Defence Staff from 2006 until his retirement in late 2010. He is now a Crossbench member of the House of Lords. In April 2013, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth II. As a junior RAF officer, Stirrup was a jet pilot, and saw action in the Dhofar War. Later in his career, he commanded No. 2 Squadron and RAF Marham. After several senior air force appointments, Stirrup was made the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Strike Command and during this time he served as the first commander of British forces engaged in fighting the Taliban. In 2002, Stirrup was appointed the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff responsible for equipment and capability and was heavily involved in procuring equipment for the invasion of Iraq. Spending a little over a year in that role, he was then appointed the Chief of the Air Staff, in which capacity he served from 2003 to 2006. He became Chief of the Defence Staff in 2006: during his time in office the British Armed Forces faced significant commitments both to Iraq (Operation Telic) and Afghanistan (Operation Herrick). Stirrup retired as Chief of the Defence Staff on 29 October 2010, taking a seat in the House of Lords in 2011. Early and personal life Graham Eric Stirrup was born on 4 December 1949, the son of William Hamilton Stirrup and his wife, Jacqueline Brenda Stirrup (née Coulson). He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood, Hertfordshire. Stirrup married Mary Alexandra Elliott in 1976 and they have one son. Stirrup includes golf, music, theatre and history among his interests. He is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a member of the Society of Knights of the Round Table. RAF career Stirrup started his military career at the RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire on 1 April 1968 and it was from Cranwell that he received his commission on 31 July 1970. He was promoted to flying officer on 31 July 1971 with seniority backdated to 31 January, and to flight lieutenant from 31 July 1973. From 1973 to 1975, Stirrup was on loan service with the Sultan of