Roy de Ruiter (aviator)


Major Roy de Ruiter,, is a reservist pilot, active in civil aviation since 2013. De Ruiter is one of the only three living knights of the Military Order of William, the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Biography

De Ruiter applied to study flight in the Royal Netherlands Air Force at the age of 16 years in 1997. He was accepted to Koninklijke Militaire Academie in Breda in 1999. He completed training in 2001.

Afghanistan

De Ruiter was deployed in Afghanistan for the first time in 2004. He had several tours to Afghanistan with last deployment in 2009.

Military Order of William

De Ruiter received the highest military award for his service as an Apache pilot in Afghanistan. The service involved several heroic acts in the period from 2007 to 2009 when the Dutch army was deployed in the province of Uruzgan. Roy de Ruiter is the latest and one of three living recipients of the order.

Civil career

De Ruiter was honorably discharged from the army in 2013 and started a career in civil aviation. He is currently an instructor pilot for the Royal Oman Police.

Private life

Roy de Ruiter is married and has two children.