He was my Sqn Cdr on II(AC) - his office was right next door to where I worked, so I knew him pretty well.
The guy was very focussed and at the time paid a lot of attention to performance data. He wanted his Sqn to fly more sorties and more hours than any of the other Tornado Sqns. He wanted to command the best Tornado Sqn. I believe he did at the time, not just out of loyalty to my Sqn, but because the other three Sqns at Marham used to come to us for tips & ideas. He encouraged creative thinking and ways of working as long as it didn't break any rules or more importantly, affect flight safety.
Most importantly for me was his passion for family welfare. When we went away (and we did go away an awful lot during his time in command), he made sure the welfare people back at Marham and the Sqn rear party worked their backsides off to provide support for the families. His wife was also very prominent in supporting this venture - not just because she had nothing better to do, but because she also "got it". The events were not limited to the wives of certain ranks - all events were open to all ranks, and my wife felt very well supported during Steve's time in command.
Those years on II(AC) were very rewarding for me, both personally & professionally. Both Dick Garwood & Steve Hillier were outstanding Sqn Cdrs to work for, and its of little surprise to see both of them have hit the top. If he's still serving, I would expect the name "Mike Wigston" to also feature at the top of the tree in due course, as he was schooled under these two.
