Group Captain Snaith, who has replaced fellow Gp Capt Michael Blackburn, revealed he was looking forward to getting started on what is an extremely busy operational base.
“As you can imagine, I am thrilled to be here. Being a Station Commander is a huge privilege for an RAF officer and to be at RAF Akrotiri at a time of such operational importance is particularly exciting.
“I flew here in the early days of the operation and loved Cyprus, so it is great to be back.”
Group Captain Christopher Snaith
Station Commander, RAF Akrotiri
And upon arriving on the station, he was also pleased to see the atmosphere he experienced in the ‘early days’ is still evident today.
Speaking about his first impressions, he went on: “It has to be the energy and the sense of purpose around the base. We have a diverse team of military, contractors and locally employed civilians, but to see everyone pulling in the same direction is really satisfying in my first few days.
“Challenges will be many and varied and there will be things that occur that I can’t begin to imagine. The biggest challenge will be to continue with the good work that is happening every single day and to add value where possible.”
Prior to arriving in Cyprus, Gp Capt Snaith was based in Saudi Arabia, which he described as being “a fantastic experience which certainly prepared us for the heat’ and it is clear he is determined to make as much of his two years in Cyprus as possible.
“First and foremost, I want to run a safe base,” he said. “But personally, Ailsa and I would like to explore as much of this beautiful island as possible and absorb as much of the local culture as we can.”
