Lieutenant General Jean-Patrick Gaviard retired mid 2006.
He has been, since January 2007, a consultant with French think tanks and since November 2008 a “senior concept developer” with Nato/Sact, Norfolk (USA).
- From 2005 to 2006, he was advisor to the French defence Minister. He worked at this time particularly on C4ISR and NEC issues.
- Prior to this from 2003 to 2005, Lt General JP Gaviard was the French Air Defence and Air Operations Command, Commander. Responsible, for example, after 9/11 for launching Mirage 2000 and helicopters against renegade aircrafts and slow movers directly under the authority of the French Prime minister. During this period, he was also responsible for the certification of the French Air Force as a Nato Reaction Force (NRF5) and the qualification of the French Forces Head Quarter (FHQ) for EU operations.
- From 2001 to 2003, Major-General JP Gaviard was chief of retstaff for operations within the Joint Defence Staff. He was responsible for the commitments of the French armed forces with the US forces in Afghanistan, under Nato in the Balkans and under EU in Africa (DRC, Chad, Ivory Cost).
- From 1999 to 2001, he was in charge for International relations within the Air Staff.
- In spring of 1999, as a young Brigadier General he was commanding, during the Nato Kosovo Air campaign, the 100 French combat aircrafts including navy air assets. He was as well as the French senior representative for this important Air operations “Allied Action”, and posted at the Nato Air operations Center at Vicenza (Italy).
- Before, he spent four years (1995-1999) in charge of the French Air Force’s budget and finances, where he oversaw a budget of 6 billions euros.
- From 1993 to 1995, the Colonel JP Gaviard was Dijon Air Force Base (AFB) commander and previously a Reconnaissance squadron commander at Strasbourg AFB.
He accumulated over 4000 flying hours.
His education includes time spent at the Air Force Academy, between 1971 and 1973 as well as at the Air War College and the Special Joint Course (“Cours Special Interarmées”) at Paris, from 1989 to 1991.