Major General Paul Tedman was commissioned into the Army Air Corps (AAC) in 1997 and was awarded his army flying badge in 1999. Subsequently, he qualified as a special forces aviator, commanded 1 Regiment Army Air Corps, the Aviation Reconnaissance Force, and was latterly the inaugural commander of 1st Aviation Brigade.

He has flown and commanded on domestic and global joint operations variously at squadron, regiment, task-group and brigade levels. On the staff he has served as a strategic planner in Army HQ, a joint effects planner in a Corps HQ, and as deputy commander of the UK’s Joint Helicopter Command.

In August 2021 Tedman was selected to be the UK’s inaugural Deputy J5 in US Space Command, Colorado Springs.  In this role he served as a pathfinder for allied integration into the United States newest combatant command and contributed to the development of US space policy, strategy, and plans.  

Tedman was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service (QCVS) in 2003 (Western Iraq), a second QCVS in 2013 (Afghanistan), and was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2020. In 2023 he was awarded the US Legion of Merit.  He has master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and defence studies, and was a research fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford.  He is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.  

He assumed command of UK Space Command in May 2024.

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