Air Commodore Jayne Millington
Defence expert who commanded air counter terrorism operations for the 2012 London Olympics
AIR COMMODORE JAYNE MILLINGTON, who has died aged 55, was an air defence and aerospace specialist and the UK National Military Representative (UKNMR) at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Belgium.
She was appointed as the Deputy UK Air Defence Commander in January 2012. In addition to her responsibilities for the air defence ground environment and its complex mix of surveillance and communications systems, she also planned and commanded the air defence and air counter terrorism operations for the 2012 London Olympics.
A year later she used the plans to provide security for the 2013 G8 Summit and, in 2014, the Commonwealth Games and the Nato Summit in Wales. Command of these operations was in addition to her prime responsibility ensuring that Britain’s air defence force remained ready and capable to meet a range of potential threats from a 9/11-style terrorist attack to the increasing incursions into British airspace by Russian long-range aircraft.
Wendy Jayne Millington was born in Chester on January 11 1962 and educated at Hawarden High School. After gaining a degree in physics at Magdalen College, Oxford, she worked at Marconi as a guided weapon’s engineer in a team developing the Skyflash air-to-air missile.
She then joined the RAF and was commissioned as a fighter controller in June 1987. Her first appointment was as an intercept controller at RAF Buchan in Aberdeenshire before serving in the Falkland Islands. In August 1990 she became the first female officer to be selected for the demanding one-year RAF aerosystems course, where she excelled and was awarded the Aries trophy as the top student.
Her career progressed rapidly as her talent was recognised with a diverse selection of appointments in the air defence arena, including tours as a senior controller in Britain and a return to the Falklands, as well as serving in the MOD developing operational requirements. She then worked on creating advanced specialist training courses. During this fast developing period of her career she also found time in 1997 to be a key member of the Richard Noble-inspired THRUST Supersonic Car project, which achieved a world land-speed record of over 760mph.
Jayne Millington had the key role of controlling THRUST’S speed runs. She also kept members of the team and the gathering crowds up to date with regular broadcasts, adopting the role of “Desert Witch” to “make the magic happen and perform miracles”. She made, said Noble, “a huge contribution to the success of the project in her quiet, supremely confident Jayne way”.
In 2001 she attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course where she won a fellowship to King’s College, London, attaining an MA with distinction in Defence Studies.
In February 2002, as a wing commander, she was appointed to command the Operations Wing at the Harrier base at RAF Wittering. For a female and a non-pilot this was a daunting task, not least in the challenging environment of supporting the Harrier force during regular operational detachments to Iraq. After two years, her air officer commanding wrote: “She completes her tour with flying colours.”
After serving in the MOD as the assistant to the Chiefs of Staff Committee Secretary she was promoted to group captain. In November 2006 she became the station commander at RAF Boulder in Northumberland, the RAF’S centre of air battle management and the home of the deployable Air Surveillance and Control System Force, which was regularly supporting operations in Afghanistan.
For two years Jayne Millington worked in the MOD as the Assistant Head of International Policy and Planning, Middle and Near East, developing the Mod’s regional defence diplomacy policy, working in support of the government’s “Gulf Initiative” to strengthen relationships in a region made more complex and turbulent by the events of the Arab Spring.
After her appointment at HQ Air Command as the air officer responsible for battlespace management, she served at Nato’s Air Command in Germany before taking up her appointment as the UKNMR in Belgium.
Described by one colleague as “a trailblazer for women in the RAF”, in addition to displaying considerable ability and foresight Jayne Millington was a good listener and a great motivator. She was highly professional, intelligent, dedicated and an innovator who presented her opinions forcefully after careful analysis. She was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and was elected to its Council in May 2014; some saw her as a future president. She was also President of the Aries Association for graduates of the Aerosystems and Specialist Navigation Courses.
An accomplished horsewoman, she also enjoyed winter sports, in particular riding down the bobsleigh track; it was rumoured that she had gone down the Cresta Run. Her interests included travel, art history and music, in which she had a catholic taste.
She was greatly admired for courageously continuing to fulfil her service duties after she was diagnosed with cancer.
She is survived by her brother.
Air Commodore Jayne Millington, born January 11 1962, died May 20 2017