Wing Commander takes charge of his former squadron (From Oxford Mail)

Wing Commander takes charge of his former squadron

3:38pm Monday 8th February 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

A PILOT has returned to take command of the RAF Brize Norton squadron he served with when he first took to the skies.

Wing Commander Alistair Green took up his post at 216 Squadron on Thursday. It is the fourth time he has been stationed at Brize, where he completed his first tour flying TriStar troop transports almost 10 years ago.

Wg Cmdr Green, 41, said: “It’s wonderful being back on the front line flying aeroplanes again, having spent six years on the ground.

“It’s a fantastic job. You get to command one of the biggest squadrons in the air force, and working with the people is absolutely fantastic.”

His predecessor, Wing Commander Steve Chadwick, is now serving in Afghanistan.

Wg Cmdr Green, a married father-of-two, said one of the biggest challenges will be when RAF Lyneham moves to Brize Norton.

He said: “It’s a huge time for change for the station, so it’s quite an exciting period.

“The main challenge will be fitting everybody into the station and integrating all the different units from Lyneham to Brize Norton in a merger that was always to continue operations uninterrupted.

“There is only so much real estate here at Brize Norton and there is a lot of investment to make this work, but it’s going to be a challenge.”

Wg Cmdr Green has also given his support for the base’s campaign Beer for the Boys, a project that aims to provide a pint for every serviceman or woman returning to the base from Afghanistan.

He said: “The squadron will carry that on into the future.

“I think it’s nice to be able to give something back to the guys out there who are living in some pretty harsh conditions.

“It’s nice to turn around and say well done, you are going home now, have a beer.”

Wg Cmdr Green joined the RAF as a pilot in 1987. After flying training, he was posted to 216 Squadron at Brize before completing his first tour as a co-pilot in Bosnia.

He left the base in 1994 to join the Central Flying School as an instructor.

Wg Cmdr Green returned to Tri- Stars in 1997 for a tour as an aircraft captain, and served in the Kosovo campaign. Following promotion, he became flight commander on what was to become 99 Squadron, and then served at an RAF base in High Wycombe.