ON Friday, July 17, the Commanding Officer of MoD St Athan and No 4 School of Technical Training (4SofTT), Wing Commander Rob Woods, handed over the reins of the St Athan site to Commodore Anthony King.

Although St Athan has had a history of working closely with the Royal Navy, this will be the first time that the Commanding Officer will have been a Naval Commodore.

To mark the formal handover, representatives from some of the many RAF trades, based at St Athan, turned out to show their support for both the outgoing and incoming Commanding Officers.

Wing Commander Woods said: “During my time as Commanding Officer of the school and the base, I have had the opportunity of meeting some amazing people – both in the context of the RAF and also in the wider community.

"My time at St Athan has sometimes been testing and a challenge. However, during the 70th Anniversary celebrations in 2008, I could not help but be touched by the strength of support the Station received from the Vale Community.

"Wherever my future career in the RAF takes me, I will always look back on my years spent at St Athan with genuine fondness and a sense of pride,” he added.

Commodore King takes overall Command of St Athan as the site prepares to become home to the next generation of Tri-Service Training.

Over the next five years the MoD plans to build a new Defence Technical College on the East Camp site, and Commodore King will both lead the work that will see the amalgamation of the three existing tri-Service Colleges into a single organisation, and will also become its first Commandant.

Commodore King said: “I consider it a great privilege and honour to be the first Royal Naval Officer to take command at St Athan.

"The history of the site and its links with the Vale are very well established, and as the new Commanding Officer, I look forward to continuing to foster the excellent relationships we have with both the Vale of Glamorgan and the Welsh people.”