Air Component Commander, Air Commodore Andy Scott
The Air Component Commander (ACC) has a crucial role in the Air Force, reporting directly to the Chief of Air Force. Their main responsibilities include commanding, training, and overseeing the Air Force Elements.
Air Commodore Andy Scott was born in Birmingham, England in November 1977 and educated at King Edward VI Aston School. He enlisted in the RNZAF in July 1997 after emigrating
from the UK at 18 years of age completing the Initial Officer Training Course and pilot training, graduating in February 2000.
The majority of his flying career has been spent on No. 40 Squadron where he has completed several tours in 16 years of operational flying achieving A-CAT Flight Instructor status on the aircraft and over 4000 hours on the C-130.
Highlights during his time on the unit include Pilot and Detachment Commander roles on exercises in NZ, Canada and USA and multiple operational deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor, and Antarctica. He was also deployed in support of the Boxing Day tsunami to Indonesia and was on-scene air coordination commander in Christchurch during the immediate aftermath of the February 2011 Canterbury Earthquake.
At the end of Air Commodore Scott’s tour as Hercules Flight Commander he was awarded a Chief of Air Force Commendation for Leadership before attending The NZDF Command and Staff College in 2012. Air Commodore Scott completed Advanced Command and Staff Course (Joint) where he was awarded the course prizes for Operational Excellence and Public Speaking and then completed his Masters Degree achieved with distinction in International Security.
In December 2012 Air Commodore Scott was promoted to Wing Commander and posted to Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand as the Lead Staff Officer Regional Operations (J3R) having oversight of all pre-planned and emergency response activities in NZ, SW Pacific, Southern Ocean, Antarctica and SE Asia for all three services. For this work he received a Distinguished Service Decoration in the 2016 New Year Honours.
In 2015 Air Commodore Scott was posted to Director Strategy Execution (Air) at the Office of Strategy Management before taking up the role of Commanding Officer No. 40 Squadron.
In January 2018 he was promoted to Group Captain and took up the position of Lead Staff Officer Current Operations (J3) at Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand before being posted to the position of Base Commander, RNZAF Base Auckland in June 2019, being awarded the Defence Meritorious Service Medal in 2022 for his work leading Base Auckland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Air Commodore Scott completed his tour as Base Commander in July 2022 and attended The Global Strategy Programme at The Royal College of Defence Studies in London, UK before starting as Air Component Commander in August 2023. He is married to Mary and has two teenage daughters, Abbey and Zoë.