New face in charge at base (From This Is Wiltshire)

New face in charge at base

10:29am Tuesday 27th December 2005 in

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THERE has been a change at the top for RAF Lyneham with the arrival of a new station commander.

The station the home of the RAF's fleet of Hercules transport planes is now under the command of Group Captain Paul Atherton.

He replaces Group Captain Paul Oborn, who arrived at the base in December 2003.

It was an emotional farewell for the old station commander, who has taken the Wiltshire airbase through some of the biggest events in its 60-year career, including the loss of Hercules XV179 in Iraq in January and the recent EU Defence meeting in October.

Grp Capt Oborn has been posted to a new job at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, which is part of the Defence Academy based at Shrivenham.

He said: "I have enjoyed my time here immensely and it is with much regret that I move on.

"Lyneham has never been busier than it is now but, in spite of this, Lyneham personnel constantly surprise me, not just with their dedication and hard work to their primary tasks in support of our mission, but also with the energy and time they give to our community.

"It has been a great privilege to have served as station commander here at RAF Lyneham and the hard work and resolve of everyone in all that we have faced has been fantastic."

Grp Capt Atherton, who is originally from Hartlepool, was previously in charge of the RAF's Basra Air Station in Iraq for six months.

He also flew aerial-refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire flying missions in support for missions over Kosovo, Afghanistan and southern Iraq.

He is expected to oversee the base's operations for the next two year.

And he will be involved in preparations for the base's expected closure in 2012, when it transfers its Hercules planes to Brize Norton.

The closure of the last RAF operational flying station in Wiltshire was announced by the Government in July 2003.

The decision ended 18 months of uncertainty, which surrounded a strategic defence review.

At the time, it examined options for closing one of three stations including RAF Lyneham, RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, and RAF St Mawgan, in Cornwall.

However, a Government decision not to base the RAF's future jet fighter, the Joint Strike Fighter, at the Cornwall base mean that base too is being tipped for closure.