Commander RBAF

Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat has been appointed as the 11th Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces on 1 September 2020, by the consent of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah was enlisted into the Royal Brunei Armed Forces on 12 September 1988 and commissioned as a Second Liutenant on 27 July 1989. In 1989, he graduated from the Initial Officer Training (IOT) at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Cranwell, United Kingdom where he also did his Basic Flying Training (BFT) in the same year. He then went on to do his Advanced Flying Training (AFT) at RAF Valley in 1990, and the Tactical Weapon Unit (TWU) at RAF Chivenor from 1990 to 1991.

Upon his return to Brunei, he flew the BO-105 helicopter from 1992-1997. In 1997, Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah went to the UK to do the Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI) course at RAF Topcliffe & RAF Linton on-Ouse. On completion of the course, he was instructing on the then newly introduced Pilatus PC-7 MKII in Brunei. He became the Flight Commander Fixed Wing (Flt Comd FW) and later became the Officer Commanding (OC) of the Flying Training School (FTS) in 2000.

In 2002, Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah attended the 6th Advanced Command & Staff Course (ACSC) at Joint Services Command & Staff College, UK where he graduated with the Master of Arts awarded by King’s College London. Upon returning to Brunei in 2003, he held the post of Staff Officer Grade 2 (SO2) Operation in the Royal Brunei Air Force. In 2005, he was posted to the Directorate of Operation at the Ministry of Defence as Staff Officer Grade 1 (SO1) Operation and was responsible for coordinating, planning and monitoring all RBAF operations. He was then posted back to the Royal Brunei Air Force in 2007 to assume the post of Commanding Officer (CO) of Operation Wing where he was responsible for all the operational flying assets in Royal Brunei Air Force. In 2010, he attended the National Defence College (NDC) in India and was conferred by the University of Madras, the Master of Philsophy (MPhil) with First Class in Defence and Strategic Studies.

From 2010 to 2012, Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah served as the Chief of Staff (COS) of Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ). As COS JFHQ, he was responsible in coordinating all the Joint Staff efforts in planning, executing and monitoring operations of RBAF as well as joint operations with government agencies. This also included coordinating exercises with foreign armed forces. He then assumed the appointment as the Deputy Commander of the Royal Brunei Air Force from 2012 to 2014. In December 2014, he was appointed as the Joint Force Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces.

Prior to taking on his current post on 1 September 2020, he served as the Commander of Royal Brunei Air Force from August 2018.

On 15 August 2015, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam bestowed the Darjah Pahlawan Negara Brunei (P.S.P.N.B) Yang Amat Perkasa Darjah Pertama which carries the title Dato Seri Pahlawan.

Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah is married to Datin Dr Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Aziz and is blessed with 2 children. His hobbies include reading, golf and volleyball.