Introducing Wing Commander Lex Smyth, the new Officer Commanding 78 Squadron

Having spent over 20 years serving in multiple roles and countries I am thrilled to be the new Officer Commanding of the extremely talented team at 78 Squadron, the Royal Air Force unit responsible for military air traffic control and airspace management, and I feel it’s a really exciting place to be.

I’m loving being back at Swanwick. Having spent three years here previously as an Area Controller much is familiar, but a lot has changed. It’s great to see so many old friendly faces and lovely to meet so many new people.

Background

I am an Air Traffic Controller by background with both terminal and area radar experience, operating in multiple towers in the UK as well as overseas in Cyprus and on operations in Basra, Iraq and Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.

I took command of 78 Squadron following two and half years working as the sole military air specialist in the Counter Terrorism and UK Operations Team in the Ministry of Defence, Whitehall. An exciting and fast paced role which involved everything from tasking long range search and rescue assets, and provision of counter-uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) capabilities in support of VVIP visits, through to managing authorisations for military aid to the civilian authorities which frequently required briefings to the Defence Secretary. A significant proportion of the role involved working alongside security services and the Cabinet Office.

When I was based at Swanwick as an Area Controller we were the London Joint Area Organisation (LJAO), but with the standing up of 78 Squadron the unit responsibilities are now significantly greater. Learning and understanding the multitude of tasks undertaken by the Squadron now is fascinating, I’m in awe of the output of our unit. The capability we provide is phenomenal and it is a huge honour to be entrusted with command of the unit.

My priorities over the next few months

Over the coming months I’ll be taking time to understand the outputs, challenges and positives of the various component parts of 78 Squadron, but most importantly I’ll be getting to know the team. I truly believe that people are our most important asset, and we must ensure they’re trained and supported appropriately. Uplifting our welfare provision is front and centre of my priorities. Additionally, with increasing focus on Transition to Conflict, I’ll be reviewing our resilience plans, ensuring compliance with NATO procedures and ensuring we adequately prepare and train our people for any potential conflict.

It has struck me that military and civilian operations at Swanwick are deeply intertwined and require significant teamwork. The importance of our close working relationship with NATS colleagues in so many areas is essential, from airspace management, safety and security to procedure coordination. I’ll be continuing to build on these relationships with the NATS team to help support those operations.

I’m blessed with an exceptional team here and am truly grateful for the support of everyone throughout my first months in post. It’s an enormous privilege to be here as the commander and custodian of 78 Squadron and I look forward to working alongside all our NATS colleagues over the next three years.