Murugesvaran ‘Subby’ Subramaniam is one of the senior commanders of Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF), who now has the distinction of being its first Hindu Warrant Officer (WO). The post of WO was created in 1996 and the person holding this appointment advises the Chief of the Air Staff on matters concerning RAF personnel.
Subramaniam said of his appointment: “As the new Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force, I am eager to take on the responsibilities that come with this position, particularly acting as the spokesperson for the non-commissioned cadre.
“Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working in a variety of roles and with colleagues from different branches of the UK's armed forces, including the Army and Navy. I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had to develop strong working relationships across all three branches of the military, and look forward to continuing to strengthen those bonds, in my new role.
“I am deeply grateful to the RAF for the trust and confidence they have placed in me, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to support our people and uphold the high standards of our Service.”
Subramaniam is an Air and Space Operations Manager, whose RAF service in the last 15 years has predominantly been in the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), Missile Warning (MW), Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) field.
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Before joining the RAF in 1998, he served in the Royal Engineers with 106 Field Squadron/12 Force (Air) Support Group, 36 Engineering Regiment.
He was educated in Malaysia before moving to the UK and earned a Bachelor of Law and a Diploma in Higher Education in Finance and Legal Studies. He is currently studying for his Master’s in Business Administration Risk and Resilience at Buckinghamshire New University.
In September 2021, Subramaniam was appointed as the inaugural Command Warrant Officer to the United Kingdom Space Command. During his tenure, he also supported the Space Command Capability branch on SDA and Command and Control Systems delivery.
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Last year, he was selected as the first RAF WO to attend the Command Senior Enlisted Staff Course at Baltic Defence College in Estonia. He went on to graduate with the Commandant’s Award for outstanding academics and leadership.