Ian Elliott studied Aeronautics and Astronautics at The University of Southampton. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) College, Cranwell in 1982, and after flying training, has flown VC10s at RAF Brize Norton; including a Gulf War 1. Following staff tours in the Ministry of Defence, in 1999 he returned to RAF Brize Norton as a squadron commander and immediately found his squadron involved at the heart of operations in the Kosovo War. As a result of his leadership efforts, he was awarded the OBE by Her Majesty the Queen. In 2004, he returned to RAF Brize Norton to assume overall command of the RAF´s only strategic air transport base, at which point he was appointed an Aide De Comps to Her Majesty the Queen. In 2005, RAF Brize Norton was awarded the Stainforth Trophy as the best overall frontline station in the RAF. Promoted to Air Commodore in summer 2005, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategy, Policy and Plans within HQ Air Command. In 2008, he was posted as the UK Air Attaché to Washington D.C. In this role he was responsible for the strategic dialogue between the RAF and USAF and was the senior RAF officer in North America. He was also responsible for the management of the RAF´s extensive exchange officer programme with the US.