Change at the top for the Royal Navy Gibraltar squadron

A change of Command has taken place within the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron as Lieutenant Commander (Lt Cdr) Tom Loxton handed over the reins to Lt Cdr Kyle Walkley.

Lt Cdr Walkley has spent the last year with in the Squadron whilst in command of HMS Scimitar, one of their two patrol boats, and he now steps up to take command of the whole 26 person squadron.

On taking command, Lt Cdr Walkley said: “I have been hugely privileged over the past 12 months to command HMS Scimitar here in Gibraltar and I am now lucky enough to step up to take charge of the Squadron”.

“Gibraltar is a very special place and it has been a great environment in which to climb the steep learning curve associated with my first command.
I look forward to continuing to deliver on operations on the water in the coming months,” he added.

The Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron is the Royal Navy’s team of 26 personnel permanently based on the Rock; they operate two fast patrol boats, HMS Scimitar and HMS Sabre and three Pacific 24 RHIBs.

The team is specifically responsible for demonstrating sovereignty of the British Overseas Territory as well as providing force protection to visiting vessels inside British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

Lt Cdr Loxton will return to the UK to complete the Principal Warfare Officer course at HMS Collingwood near Portsmouth. On his departure he said: “I have hugely enjoyed my two years out here in Gibraltar, delivering on operations every single day. It has been without doubt the most professionally satisfying job in my career so far and I look forward to coming back to Gibraltar many times in my future career in the Royal Navy.”

Lt Cdr Walkley joined the Royal Navy in 2010. Before joining RNGS in August 2018 he served as the Navigating Officer in the Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond.