Air Commodore James Savage

Former Head of Accommodation UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Air Commodore James Savage served in the People Operations Branch of the Royal Air Force (RAF) for more than 35 years. Early roles focused on HR and accounts in the UK and on operations; capability planning and strategy for RAF Strike Command; and as British Commander of one of the two largest US bases in the UK. He was selected to attend the Advanced Command and Staff Course in 2006, winning three prizes including top student on the MA in Defence Studies, and was awarded the OBE for his work on the overarching personnel strategy for the UK Armed Forces. After serving as Deputy Defence Attache in the British Embassy Kabul, he commanded the Base Support Wing at RAF Cottesmore through the drawdown of the Harrier Force and the station’s closure. He then served on the New Employment Model programme and as head of Personnel Strategy for the RAF before being appointed as Head of Infrastructure for Joint Forces Command (JFC, now UK Strategic Command) in 2014. In JFC he was responsible for nine overseas bases, eight UK bases and a range of dispersed critical infrastructure supporting strategic capabilities in the UK. Promoted to air commodore in 2017, he then served as head the RAF’s infrastructure specialisation with responsibility for the RAF’s portfolio of 25 major operational and training bases and associated national/international capability programmes. His final appointment in 2020 was as Head of Accommodation in the Defence Infrastructure Organisation where he managed the 12th largest portfolio of rented housing in the UK and delivered housing services to around 40,000 military families in the UK and across Europe. He is now a non-executive director of a housing association in the west of England.