Air Vice Marshal Richard John Bomball, (born 13 October 1937) is a retired Royal Australian Air Force officer, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff – Development and former Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy.
Early life Born on 13 October 1937, in Richmond, Victoria, Bomball was educated at Mentone Grammar School and joined the Royal Australian Air Force on graduation.
Career and later life Bomball entered the Royal Australian Air Force in 1956. He served in a variety of units and roles, including as the commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron and the Director of Staff at the RAAF Staff College. He was promoted to Air Vice Marshal and appointed as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in 1988.
Following his retirement from the Air Force, Bomball was appointed as the first Chairman of the Board of Newcastle Airport Limited in 1993, when control of the airport was transferred from the Commonwealth to joint control by Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council. He served until 2004. In 1994 he was appointed to serve on the Veterans' Compensation Review Committee by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, John Faulkner, subsequently co-authoring a report on compensation for veterans and war widows. In 2024 he published Selling the Mirage, an account of the 1990 sale of the RAAF's retired Mirage fleet to the Pakistani Air Force.
Honours Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) AD 1990 Air Force Cross (AFC) QB 1969 General Service Medal Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air NY 1967 – Attached to GSM Australian Service Medal 1945-1975 Defence Force Service Medal with 4 clasps for 35–39 years of service National Medal with First Clasp QB 1977/AD 1982 – for 25 years of service Australian Defence Medal Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysia)
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