Commodore Steve Dainton CBE Royal Navy has been appointed as the new head of British Forces Gibraltar.  

A statement follows below:

British Forces Gibraltar has a new head at the helm with the appointment of Commodore Steve Dainton CBE Royal Navy. 

Commodore Dainton today took Command as Commander British Forces, taking over from Commodore Tim Henry OBE Royal Navy. Commodore Henry had held the post since September 2018 and now heads off to Belgium where he will take up the post of Assistant Chief of Staff J5 at the NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. 

To mark today’s supersession, military and civilian personnel attended a formal Change of Command ceremony at HM Naval Base Gibraltar. Personnel, socially distanced, gathered in the Tower to welcome Commodore and Mrs Dainton. Commodore Dainton took the opportunity to inspect the Royal Gibraltar Regiment’s Guard of Honour. 

Personnel then lined up in front of the Tower to wave farewell to Commodore and Mrs Henry. Accompanied by their daughter Izzy, Commodore and Mrs Henry then departed the Naval Base onboard HMS SABRE, escorted by Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron vessels HMS SCIMITAR, HMS PURSUER and HMS DASHER as well as VC 2 and VC 5 from the Gibraltar Defence Police maritime section. 

Commodore Dainton’s career has included a variety of sea and land-based appointments, both in the UK and overseas. In 2017 Commodore Dainton took over as UK Maritime Component Commander where he was responsible for the delivery of national and coalition counter terrorism, counter piracy and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Eastern Mediterranean and the western Indian Ocean. He returned to the UK in 2019 where he attended the Royal College of Defence Studies prior to taking up his role as Commander British Forces. 

Commodore Dainton is very much looking forward to his appointment and said: “I am delighted to have arrived in Gibraltar, taking over as Commander British Forces. It is an honour and a privilege to be here and I look forward to working with each and every one of you.”