Captain James Hall

Commanding Officer, RNAS Culdrose Royal Navy

James Hall joined BRNC Dartmouth in May 2001 after attending Manchester Grammar School and the University of Surrey graduating in Geography and Sport Science. After completing Observer flying training in July 2004, he spent much of his first frontline tour embarked before undertaking an instructional tour with 849 Naval Air Squadron. He returned to the frontline in May 2009 as part of the initial Sea King Mk 7 Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) deployment in Afghanistan. Following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review he served at Navy Command Headquarters as SO2 Carrier Strike Transition responsible for developing the Carrier Strike Long Lead Specialist Skills and fixed wing pilot training programmes to deliver suitably qualified personnel for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. As the Senior Observer and Executive Officer of 849 Naval Air Squadron, he was responsible for the management of ab-initio aircrew training, and reinvigorated Sea King Mk 7 ASaC co-operation and interoperability with the French Navy Carrier Air Group. He was subsequently selected as Commanding Officer of 857 Naval Air Squadron in March 2014 returning to Afghanistan to lead the final phase of Sea King ASaC operations in Helmand province. On promotion to Commander, and after a period as the Deputy Force Commander of the RN Fixed Wing Force at RNAS Culdrose, he graduated from the Joint Services Advanced Command and Staff Course (2016). He then served for two years in the Ministry of Defence Operations Directorate where he was responsible for the provision of advice on near-term operational capability provision to meet Defence outputs in the Maritime, Air, and C4ISR domains. During 2018, he completed a short period as the Executive Assistant to Commander Operations at the Maritime Operations Centre in Northwood, prior to assuming Command of the Merlin Helicopter Force at RNAS Culdrose. In this role he was responsible for the force generation and capability development of both Anti-Submarine Warfare and Airborne Early Warning and Control variants of the Merlin HM Mk2 helicopter. Following this, he spent two years back in the Ministry of Defence during the Defence and Security Integrated Review as part of the Royal Navy Strategic Planning team. In May 2022, he took up a role as Head of Operational Warfare for Naval Aviation. He returned to RNAS Culdrose as the Commanding Officer in December 2024 and is responsible for the force generation of both Merlin helicopters and Maritime Uncrewed Air Systems, as well as leading the Royal Navy contribution to the partnership at the National Drone Hub in Cornwall.