A NEW commanding officer has been appointed to lead the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, the south west's Territorial Army armoured regiment, which has a centre in Swindon.
Lieutenant Colonel Max Rothwell, 42, takes over from Lieutenant Colonel Lord de Mauley, who has held the position for the last two years.
The handover took place at Buckingham Palace in the presence of the Earl of Wessex, Royal Honorary Colonel of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry.
Having joined the TA in 1985, Lt Col Rothwell commanded the Royal Devon Yeomanry squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry in Barnstaple from 1996 to 1999.
He has been second-in-command of the regiment since January 2003. He has also served in Macedonia and Kosovo with 4 Armoured Brigade.
He said: "The reigment's members have demonstrated they are highly competent at their roles but, with just under 40 members of the regiment currently deployed in Iraq, it shows that this is a time of great challenges."
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