Commanding 39 Engineer Regt 'greatest privilege of my life', says outgoing Op Tosca CO

A new commanding officer has officially taken over leadership of 39 Engineer Regiment while the unit is deployed in Cyprus.

Lt Col Michael Gledhill has now assumed command of the Royal Engineers unit halfway through their six-month deployment as UN peacekeepers.

The departing CO, Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Walker, described the change as "bittersweet," and said that commanding the unit had been the "greatest privilege" of his life.

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"The pleasure of being in command is the pleasure of being in command of those within the regiment," Lt Col Gledhill said. 

"I'm looking forward to interacting with all those that are out here."

An informal handshake beneath the United Kingdom, United Nations, and regiment's flag at Wolseley Barracks in Nicosia completed the handover.

Bittersweet farewell

In a final duty, outgoing CO Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Walker gave medals and service to the best in the unit.

"Any commander will tell you that the best time to be with the troops is on operations like this," he said.

"The soldiers under my command have done the most amazing job."

39 Engineer Regiment is a specialist unit of the Royal Engineers, based at Kinloss Barracks on the Moray coast in Scotland.

Currently, around 230 sappers and attached personnel are living inside the United Nations Green Line Buffer Zone while deployed on Op Tosca.

The British force comes under the command of the United Nations while in Cyprus.