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General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF is a military officer who is serving as the current Chief of the Royal Malaysian Air Force from 21 December 2016.

Background
General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF was born on 21st August 1962 in Kuching, Sarawak. His early education was obtained in Kuching, Sarawak but in 1978, he was selected to further his secondary education at the Royal Military College in Sungai Besi until completion of his Malaysian Certificate of Examination in 1979.

Military Career
GenDato' Sri Hj Affendi joined the Malaysian Armed Forces as an RMAF Officer Cadet in 1980 and received his basic training at the Officer Cadet School, Sebatang Kara, Port Dickson. In 1981, he was selected to undergo Basic Flying Training at RMAF Alor Setar and upon completion was commissioned into the Royal Malaysian Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in 1982. Based on his knowledge, skill and attitude as well as temerity and maturity, Gen Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi was posted to No 3 Flying Training Center in RMAF Kuantan for hisinitial jet conversion on the MB-339A. From then on, his career as a fighter pilot took off with his subsequent Operational Conversion on the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk at No 9 Sqn in October 1984 followed by his first operational tour on the A-4 Skyhawk at No 6 Sqn inJune1985. In recognition of his knowledge, skill and attitude as a fighter pilot, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendi wassent for his Instructor Pilot's course in Jan 1988 at ILIT, RMAF Alor Setar and was subsequently posted back to No 9 Sqn in July 1988 as an Instructor Pilot on the A-4 Skyhawk.

In recognition of his forte, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was among the officers selected for the RMAF MiG-29Project Team in 1994, which later became the MiG-29 RMAF Technical Team in Russia. Together with theformerChief ofRMAF GenTan Sri Rodzali (Retired) and current Deputy Chief of RMAF Lt Gen Dato' Sri Ackbal, Gen Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi was the pioneer cadres for the induction of theMiG-29 into RMAF operational capability and was instrumental in the knowledge transfer process for the build-up of the RMAF MiG-29 operational capabilities. Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was also one of the founding members of the RMAF MiG-29tacticalaerobatics team popularly known as "Smokey Bandits". He later led the “Smokey Bandits” during his tenure as the Commanding Officer of No 17/19 Sqn.

Throughout his operational flying career, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendi is a force to be reckoned with as a fighter pilot. He was actively involved in various air operations including flying Close Air Support andBattlefield Interdiction missions during the fight against communist insurgency in the late 1980s. His operational tours on the A-4 Skyhawk and the MiG-29 also saw him routinely deployed to conduct patrols across Malaysia including Gugusan Semarang Peninjau (Malaysian outposts in the South China Sea) and Malaysian maritime zones around Peninsular as well as East Malaysia.

The knowledge, skill and attitude gained by Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendiwas further developedandenhanced by his experiences at various staff and command positions at the tactical, operational and later strategic level. From 1997 to 2002, he was posted to No 1 Air Division, initially as Staff Officer 2 Standards, Safety and Readiness and later as Staff Officer 1 Fighter Operations. In this capacity, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendiwas responsible for the overall operational readiness and competency of the RMAF fighter aircrew. He was then entrusted with the command of No 17/19 Sqn from 2002 until 2004. In 2006, he tookcommand as Commander of Butterworth Airbase until 2007, after which hewas posted as Director of J5 (Contingencies and Plans) at the Joint Force Headquarters (MarkasAngkatan Bersama) from 2008 to 2009. In December 2009, he was promoted as Brigadier General RMAF and was appointed as the Director General of Operations and Exercise at RMAF Air Operations Command until end 2010. Upon returning from his one year studies in Australia, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendiwas posted back on September 2011 once again as the Director General for Operations and Exercises at the RMAF Air Operations Command and subsequently was promoted in that post as Major General RMAF in 2013. He was then promoted to Lieutenant General RMAF in July 2014 and appointed as the Joint Force Commander (Panglima Angkatan Bersama) for his second tour at the Joint Force Headquarters. By the end of 2014, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was appointed as the RMAF Chief of Air Operations (Panglima Operasi Udara). He served as the Air Operations Commander for about one year before he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of RMAF in 2015. On 21 December 2016, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF was promoted as General RMAF and took over command from Gen Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Roslan bin Saad RMAF to become the 18th Chief of Royal Malaysian Air Force.

Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendiis a proponent of lifelong learning and believes in the importance of gaining knowledge as a part of increasing competency as well as proficiency in handling appointed tasks. Apartfrom his flying career courses, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendiattendedthe Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College (Maktab Turus Angkatan Tentera (MTAT))in 1997 and the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Center for Defence and Strategic Studies (CDSS) Australia in 2005. Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendi also undertook tertiarylevelstudiesto qualify himself as aholder of Masters of Art (Strategic Studies) from Deakin University, Australia. As a part of theRMAFSenior Management and in recognition of his capacity, Gen Dato' Sri Hj Affendiwas presented with the opportunity to gain knowledge,experience and networking at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) London in 2011.

Personal Life
General Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF is married to Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Puteri Seri Teja Pahang Hajjah Tengku Muhaini binti Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah.

Honours
In recognition of his service for the country, General Affendi bin Buang was conferred several medals and awards by the Federal and State Government as well as the Malaysian Armed Forces. Apart from the service medals, he was awarded the Pingat Tentera Udara (PTU) or the Air Force Medal, which is awarded to a Royal Malaysian Air Force aircrew for gallantry in performing flying duties. He was conferred several military honor medals including the Kesatria Angkatan Tentera (KAT), Pahlawan Angkatan Tentera (PAT) and Panglima Setia Angkatan Tentera (PSAT). Gen Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi was also bestowed by Duli Yang Maha Mulia the Sultan of Pahang, Ahli Mahkota Pahang (AMP), Setia Ahmad Shah Pahang (SAP), Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) with the honorific Dato’ and Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (SSAP), which carries the title Dato’ Sri.