Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Tony Davies
The Chief of Defence Force (CDF) is the professional head of the NZDF and serves as the principal military adviser to the government.
Air Marshal Tony Davies was born in Whangārei in 1966. He joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1984 and over the course of his career has amassed 7,000 flying hours as a pilot and instructor on Airtrainer, Andover, Hercules, and Boeing 727 and 757 aircraft.
Early in his flying career, Air Marshal Davies deployed to the Middle East flying Hercules missions in the Gulf War as part of the coalition to liberate Kuwait. He has since held command appointments at Squadron, Wing, and Component level. His staff appointments range from personnel and career management to Joint operations, Capability and head of NZDF Strategic Commitments and Intelligence.
In recognition of his role in the 1998 mid-winter Hercules mission to evacuate a critically ill US citizen from Antarctica Air Marshal Davies was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Air Marshal Davies graduated from the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff Course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama in 2000, and the Royal College of Defence Studies in London in 2013.
Appointed as the Chief of Air Force from 2016 before becoming the Vice Chief of Defence Force in 2018, Air Marshal Davies was promoted to his current rank on appointment to Chief of Defence Force on 06 June 2024.
Air Marshal Davies’ foremost priority is to focus on the NZDF’s ability to deliver agile military responses with today’s capabilities, while simultaneously generating new military capability to meet tomorrow’s threats to New Zealand’s security interests.
He has a similar focus on strong military relationships with key partners who share the same values-based approach to common challenges.