Taliban trying to surprise us , Afghanistan 2010
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Patrolling a town near Iran-Iraq border 2005
to say goodbye . Over the past two weeks on the operations we had multiple gunshot wound casualties , five in my Platoon alone , but they all made it out and would recover .
This particular tour was extremely hard as you were fighting a sneaky enemy every day or worrying about getting hit with an Improvised Explosive Device ( IED ), add to that the casualties and being far away from your loved ones , it takes its toll .
After the tour I became an Instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and passed some knowledge onto the future Officers of the British Army . I returned to the Scots Guards and promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2 , I would do various jobs at this rank including Company Sergeant Major and Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant . All the jobs were interesting and that is the thing about the Army , you are never bored and can always learn something new or pass a course to get promoted .
Twenty years into my career I decided to do a
BA ( Hons ) in Leadership and Management at Northumbria University . I started this as I deployed to Cyprus on an operational tour with the United Nations . It was hard to balance studying and conducting your normal job but the personal discipline learned over the years kicked in and got me through it . I still had Mr McMahon ’ s infamous words inside my head as I took the stage in Newcastle and collected my Degree , I was proud as punch and hoped that by me passing a Degree would inspire others with my background to do the same .
Meeting Prince Charles after Afghanistan 2010
The last two years have seen me promoted to become the Regimental Sergeant Major ( RSM ) of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards , which is the senior soldier in the Regiment . This was special for me as it showed that I had made it to become the top soldier in the Regiment and responsible for 600 other soldiers . As I write this article I have been selected to Commission as a Captain which lets me serve for another ten years and have a second career .
Under fire from the Taliban , Afghanistan 2010
When I started in 1998 I never thought I would have maths and English qualifications never mind a Degree ! The Army has given me the confidence to believe in myself and hopefully set a good example for others to follow . In my Regiment we have had many a Stewartonian serve in the last three hundred plus years including a few that lost their lives in the World Wars . The Scots Guards are a massive family orientated Regiment with many brothers , fathers , sons all serving together , we also have a very large Ayrshire contingent .
The Scots Guards are moving to Catterick , North Yorkshire in summer 2021 which is great news for my soldiers as it means they are closer to home . We are also going on multiple operational deployments and getting the newest vehicle in the British Army – The Boxer . It is a very exciting period for the Scots Guards going forward . If you are interested then you can follow my journey on Twitter and Instagram .
@ RSM _ 1SG @ RSM _ Scots _ Guards