In 1984, Shafik was appointed military attaché in the Egyptian Embassy in Rome. He continued in this role until 1986. In 1986, he was promoted to Air Commodore and became commander of a Group and Mig-21 Airbase. During the CSF conscription riot of 1986, President Mubarak wanted the Armed Forces to crush the revolt. He relied on the Air Force to intimidate and bomb some CSF rebels in Cairo and in Upper Egypt. The commander who was tasked with the actual execution of the operation was Brigadier/Air Commodore Ahmed Shafik, as Deputy Chief of Operations (Fighter-Bomber) for the Central Air Region. From 1988 to 1991, Shafik served several military senior command positions before he was appointed as the Commander of the Air Operations Department.