Colonel Stuart Hay

Commander 7 Air Defence Group British Army

Since commissioning in 2003, Col Stu Hay’s service has centred around both planning and executing the integration of the air and land components, at both brigade and divisional level. Operationally, he deployed on Op TELIC twice, first as a Multiple Commander in Basra in 2005 and then as ADC to the then DCG MNF-I, in Baghdad, in 2009. He deployed as an FST Commander on Op HERRICK 6 in 2007, supporting both the Grenadier Guards and Royal Anglian Regiment Battle Groups. Most recently, in 2022, he was Director Plans for the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant on Op SHADER. His initial staff role was delivering joint operational medical capability for the Surgeon General. His subsequent staff role was SO2 J5 in 1st Artillery Brigade. This included planning and executing the integration of Air and Land component ‘fires’ as a Chief of the Joint Air Ground Integration Cell (JAGIC) on multiple iterations of Ex ARRCDAE FUSION and EX WARFIGHTER with HQ 3rd (UK) Division. He commanded 137 (Java) Battery and 132 Battery (The Bengal Rocket Troop), a focus of which was broadening the contingent deployment opportunities for a nascent capability. As Second-in-Command of 26th Regiment Royal Artillery he controlled both the close-down of the last artillery regiment in Germany, and the reformation of the divisional deep fires regiment in Larkhill. He has a BSc (Hons) in Business and in 2021 completed an MBA. His dissertation focused on how regiments can optimise their ‘in-camp’ culture to sharpen the operational mindsets of its personnel. He is also a member of Cohort 3 of the Army Advanced Development Programme. Lt Col Hay spends his free time with Nikki (wife), Noah (10) and Isla (8) doing anything outdoors and active. Holidays are usually spent on anything that floats, messing about on rivers and beaches in Cornwall. He occasionally returns to relieve past glories on the hockey field until his knees remind him why he originally stopped.