A SENIOR officer from RAF Lyneham has been awarded the OBE for his role in running the base during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wing Commander Guy Edwards, 45, who lives in Tockenham, near Wootton Bassett, is in charge of the base's operations and is second-in-command at the base.

Wg Cdr Edwards, who is married with four children, said: "I was absolutely delighted, the station commander called me into his office and told me I would probably soon be in the papers.

"It came as a real surprise, and I am honoured.

"I don't know what it says on my citation, but I am pretty sure it is to do with my work here during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Although in charge of operations, Wg Cdr Edwards is also navigator on the older C-130K Hercules, but only gets a few chances to fly.

"Being in command of operations means I have to be a jack of trades," he said.

He has to oversee a variety of base services, including air traffic control and the fire and rescue service. He is also responsible for briefing aircrews and is in charge of the electronic warfare equipment and the Met Office unit at Lyneham.

He first arrived at the base in December 2001, but within three months he was in the hot seat after the-then station Commander Steve Duffill headed to Karachi in Pakistan.

And he stood in again when Comm Duffill's replacement, Group Captain Ray Lock, was sent to Basrah to look after the RAF's Hercules fleet in Iraq.

Whenever the current commander, Group Captain Paul Oborn is away, he has to step into his shoes.

"At Lyneham, we have been through two years of the most intensive and sustained operations in Afghanistan and Iraq we have ever seen," said Wg Cdr Edwards.

"For it has been hard work but very exciting, not only carrying out the role of Station Commander for that time but my own tasks as well."

He has been stationed at Lyneham several times before, in 1982 and in 1989, and is expecting to be posted from the base early in 2005.

"It is fantastic reflection on the air force that personnel from the air transport fleet are being honoured," he said.

"Many accolades tend to go to those on fast jets but we are always the first in and the last out and its good to see that it is being recognised."