The Volunteer - NWRFCA - Northwest Reserve Forces & Cadets ...

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITH LT SHELLEY WHITEHEAD NAME: Lt Shelley Whitehead AGE: Over 21! LOCATION: Great Harwood, Lancashire ROLE: Detachment Commander of Somme Detachment, Corunna Company, Lancashire Army Cadet Force CAREER SO FAR: I started my military career by joining the TA in 1991 and was one of the last WRAC (TA) soldiers to pass out at Guildford. I was then cap-badged 4QLR, which went on to become LCV and is now 4 LANCS. I served on Op TELIC in Iraq in 2004 with the Cheshires. I then had to resign my TA Cpl’s post in 2005 on gaining a commission in the ACF. My ‘voluntary’ Army Cadet Force career started in 2000 as a Sergeant Instructor at Haslingden, and I am now the Detachment Commander of Somme Detachment of Corunna Company. One of my ‘firsts’ in my career has been that I was the first armed female soldier in the world to stand guard outside an official residence. This was in Gibraltar at The Convent. I also wear a special QLR medal for Services to the Regiment and am the only serving soldier to hold this medal. UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: I am a single mum and have a four year old daughter, Fyske, which is Saxon for little fish. I have a wonderful Mum who is my support and inspiration. In my day job I am a Lead Tutor, IV and EV for British Swimming and train new swim teachers and coaches. This year I was awarded the Swim North West Coach Educator of the Year which was a great honour. I have managed and coached in programmes working with swimmers from grass roots up to Olympic and Paralympic standards (I started coaching at the age of 14 at our local club), and also have a volunteer role at Swim Northwest by chairing the Swim 21 Panel (this is our standardisation panel for accredited clubs). FAVOURITE PLACE: The place I would like to visit again is Srinagar in Kashmir where I went in 1984 when climbing in the Himalayas. This was a youth expedition, and I was selected whilst working on my Queens Guide (I hold both old and new awards!) and DofE Gold which gave me the bug to travel. I now only 58 THE VOLUNTEER www.nwrfca.org.uk Lt Shelley Whitehead with her daughter Fyske have Antarctica to tick off on my list (Has there ever been a cadet expedition to a polar ice cap?!) FAVOURITE FOOD: Italian with a chocolate desert! HAPPIEST MEMORY: Is having my daughter. I was planning to be at Base Camp Everest when I was 40 instead of becoming a Mum. No regrets, but I hope to do that when I am 50 and she can come too! GUILTY PLEASURE: Having a shower alone without all the toys and Barbie dolls!!! AMBITION: I would like to take my Detachment as far as I can. We have had such a wonderful Cadet 150 year. Every month we tried new challenges that involved the number 150. We have cleaned the boots of the TA soldiers going to Afghanistan; won the Cadet 150 Competition as part of a company team, raised £1500+ for service charities and for our annual Somme Dinner we went to a Chinese restaurant and ate 150 Chinese dishes between them. The cadets also put on a drill display to weapons to the same music I passed off to at Guildford... They know the music... Happy memories and happy kids! This ensures our detachment continues to thrive and allows me and my staff to support productive young people who will continue to achieve in their future lives. INSPIRATION: I am inspired by my Mum. She was the one who got up at four in the morning to take me to my swimming training; she is still there to support me with my daughter and my cadets. FINAL WORDS: My final words would be to take every opportunity that you can. Make the most of it because these are your lasting memories, and when you make your friends they are for life. Joining the ACF you need a sense of humour …. and realise that the cadets can teach you me as much as you can teach them. I get so much out of seeing them achieving their potential and experiencing things they would never have got the chance to do. I have one cadet going for 6 weeks adventure training in Canada, a wonderful experience that would not have happened if he had not joined the cadets, and this is why I will continue to do as much as I can for my Detachment and my cadets.
ADVERTORIALREMOUNT RETURNING FROM A WAR ZONE THROWS UP HUGE CHALLENGES FOR TA MEMBERS WHO GO BACK TO THE DAY JOB. NOW A NEW CHARITY, REMOUNT, IS OFFERING A HANDRAIL TO HELP THEM WITH THAT READJUSTMENT TO CIVILIAN LIFE. WHAT THE REMOUNT STUDENTS SAID: Remount offers soldiers a handrail to life in Civvy Street Dodging IEDs in Helmand Province one week, and fixing the plumbing in suburban Britain the next. That’s the reality for many TA soldiers who are deployed to Afghanistan and return to the UK, their lives as plumbers, mechanics and office workers transformed forever. It was for such men and women that former Royal Tank Regiment and TA officer Neville Barton founded Remount – a charity which provides courses to help forces personnel re-adjust to Civvy Street. “These TA soldiers and reserves come back from a war zone and try to pick up where they left off. For many the transformation is too fast and the change in themselves too dramatic,” said Neville. “They suffer terribly because nothing is ever the same again. Their Civvy colleagues can’t understand what they’ve been through, their partners expect them to be the same as before, and they have no one with whom to share their experiences and self-doubt.” Remount provides free fourday courses at Brathay Hall at the head of Lake Windermere in Cumbria for forces personnel of both sexes and all ranks, including the TA. When students arrive, they often have little idea of what’s in store. They have usually been encouraged to attend by their Unit Welfare Officers or NCOs. What they get is a mix of kayaking, climbing and walking, linked to time in the classroom, getting to grips with the psychological and cultural side of leaving the forces. Subjects include discovering latent talent and abilities, managing stress and depression, and finding a purpose in life. Taking part are experienced Remount trainers and staff at the Brathay Trust who provide a mix of activity and classroom learning to help develop life skills, confidence and motivation. More than 200 people have taken part in the Remount programme so far. The aim is to increase those numbers 10-fold, and to raise £1 million in 2012 to secure the charity’s future. Restoring hope and selfesteem is central to the Remount philosophy. “It’s a wake-up call,” said Remount Course Director Richard Wilson, 55, who was a Major in the Army Physical Training Corps until February 2010 and is now based at the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick. “The future is not what it was for any of the soldiers on the course. The Army provides a very successful handrail: a structure, reasonable pay, three square meals a day. Then soldiers lose everything including their rank and status. Many find themselves floundering. Remount provides a replacement handrail, a first step on the ladder of independence.” www.remount.net Remount is a registered charity, no 1126396. GARY BEAKE: 24, joined the Remount course 2 months after leaving the Royal Marines. “I left the Marines and everything caved in. I had no training going on, I was homeless and had no money. “I came on the Remount course because I wanted to get out of my situation. I got some really good advice about achieving goals – that’s what I was all about in the Marines.” LAURENCE ‘RONNIE’ CORBERT: 41, master coach at the 2nd Infantry Training Battalion at Catterick. Leaves the Army in November 2011 after more than 20 years in the Scots Guards and is joining Remount as a military liaison executive and counsellor. “Remount gave me a lot of time to reflect on where I was and where I’m heading. It gave me extra tools to overcome stresses in my life.” BRADLEY CROP: 22, 1st Battalion The Rifles. “I was sent to Iraq five days after my 18th birthday. Then Afghanistan. We got back from Iraq and I hit the drink straight away. I was going off the rails, losing my rag. “Remount offered ways of beating negatives with positives. That was helpful.“ CONTACTING REMOUNT: If you’d like to know more, or wish to make a donation, please go to the Remount website: www.remount.net or email neville.barton@ btinternet.com Remount will also be at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power in Cheshire, July 15-17, with the 4th Battalion The Mercians (V), a three-day extravaganza featuring racing cars, helicopters, aerobatics, military combat displays, powerboats and fireworks. www.nwrfca.org.uk THE VOLUNTEER 59
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THE OFFICIAL FREE MAGAZINE OF THE R
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