Jorge Robles Mella
Jorge Daniel Robles Mella (born 3 June 1957) is a retired Chilean Air Force officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Air Force (FACh) from 2014 to 2018. A fighter pilot and staff officer, he served as Chief of the Air Force General Staff immediately before assuming command of the service.
Early life and education
Robles was born in Quillota, Chile, on 3 June 1957. He entered the Captain Manuel Ávalos Prado Aviation School and pursued a career in the Air Branch of the Chilean Air Force. He subsequently qualified as a staff officer at the Air War Academy.
Robles qualified as an aeronautical systems engineer and obtained a master's degree in Military Administration Sciences. He also completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Air University of the United States Air Force.
His postgraduate education includes a master's degree in Security and Defence, specialising in political and strategic management, and a diploma in Security and Defence from the National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies. He also completed a joint operations planning course at the Maritime Warfare Centre at Southwick Park in the United Kingdom.
Robles qualified as a fighter pilot and accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours. He also became a military academy professor in operations and strategy.
Air Force career
During his Air Force career, Robles held a succession of command, staff, educational and diplomatic appointments. He served as Chief of Staff of the V Air Brigade and later headed the institution's Human Resources Division.
He also served abroad as Chile's deputy air attaché in the United States and as liaison officer to the headquarters of the Twelfth Air Force of the United States Southern Command.
Robles subsequently became director of the Air War Academy, where he also served as a professor. Among his later senior appointments were Secretary-General of the Chilean Air Force and Director of Operations and Strategic Planning of the Joint Staff.
He eventually became Chief of the Air Force General Staff, serving as one of the institution's most senior officers and advising the Commander-in-Chief in the planning, direction and control of institutional activities.
Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force
On 6 October 2014, President Michelle Bachelet designated Robles as the next Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Air Force, succeeding General Jorge Rojas Ávila. He formally assumed command and was promoted to General of the Air on 5 November 2014.
Robles structured his command around three principal areas of institutional development: personnel, management and force capabilities. His tenure included programmes intended to modernise equipment, improve training and institutional management, and strengthen the Air Force's ability to respond to national emergencies.
During his command, the Air Force participated in major relief operations following the 2015 floods in the Atacama Region, the eruption of Calbuco volcano and the 2015 Illapel earthquake in the Coquimbo Region. In 2017, the service also signed an agreement with the National Forest Corporation to strengthen its participation in fighting forest fires.
The modernisation programmes undertaken during his tenure included the acquisition of six MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters for Aviation Group No. 9, as well as Cirrus SR22T aircraft for liaison and training duties. The Air Force also continued its participation in international exercises and operations in Antarctica.
Robles completed his four-year term on 5 November 2018 and was succeeded by General Arturo Merino Núñez.
Later career
After retiring from active service, Robles continued to work in defence, strategic and aerospace affairs. He became executive director of the Chilean Air Force's Centre for Strategic and Aerospace Studies (CEEA). He has also served as a member of the Foreign Policy Council of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His post-retirement academic and professional activities have focused on strategic studies, defence policy and aerospace affairs.