Career
He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1979 to 1983, and Chief of the Defence Staff from 1983 to 1986. Jamieson joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in 1949, served on an exchange posting to Germany in 1954, and held command posts by the end of the 1950s. Thereafter he was Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (from 1978 to 1979).
This was followed by a period as the professional head of the RNZAF, the Chief of the Air Staff from 1979 to 1983 and a period as New Zealand"s most senior military appointment, the Chief of the Defence Staff (Credit default swap) until his retirement in 1986.
During his time as Credit default swap, Jamieson tried to avoid a controversy with the United States over the then Labour government"s decision to ban nuclear vessels from visiting New Zealand and preserve the ANZUS defence treaty. In the end Jamieson"s compromise solution of accepting a non-nuclear United States Navy vessel into New Zealand"s waters was not accepted by the government.
