The Locker – Issue 9

the LOCKER Issue 9
LIVE YOUR LIFE, BELONG, SKILLS
LIVE YOUR LIFE
ISSUE NINE. FREE!
the
LOCKER
SASSECRETS
ANTMIDDLETON
TAKESYOU
INSIDE THE
SPECIALFORCES
FIGHT
Boxyourway
to theOlympics
with theArmy
Gunner Tori-Ellis Willetts showsyou how
FOR
FUTURE TECH
CONTROL
YOUR PHONE
WITH YOUR
BRAIN!
YOURRIGHT
RIGHT

YOUR ARMY NEEDS YOU
TRAININSKILLSAND ADVENTURE.
GET YOURAPPRENTICESHIP WITH THE ARMY.
Earn as you learn. Travel the world. Make mates for life. As asoldier in the Army,
you’ll do more than you thought possible. You’ll bepart ofanorganisation dedicated to
helping you make the most ofyour potential. That means while you train to be asoldier
you’ll have the opportunity to earn industry-recognised apprenticeships whilst earning a
competitive salary.
This is your chance tochallenge yourself.
As one ofthe UK’s largest apprenticeship employer providers, we have lots of different
apprenticeships that are planned around your military training, including but not limited
to: plumbing, bricklaying, carpentry, chef, driving, business administration, ICT and
engineering.
We’ll give you the skills you need to reach new heights and aplace to belong. Ready to
show us what you can do? Wewant you and your potential.
FIND WHERE YOU BELONG
SEARCH ARMY APPRENTICE

P55
P15
Inside...
Everything you need to take your life upagear
COVER PHOTO:ANDREW SHAYLOR. CONTENTS PHOTOS: ANDREW FERRARO; SIMON FERNANDEZ; JOE LINGEMAN/KITCHN; PIXELEYES; BFBS/FORCES.NET
Hello!
Welcome to The Locker,your
regular fix of adventure, skills and
life-affirming fun.
In this issue,wemeet twoyoung
soldiers who arehoping to boxtheir
waytothe 2020 TokyoOlympic
Games (p22), and find out howthe
Armyhas helped keep their Olympic
dreams alive.
Elsewhere, we drop in on an Army
Warrior Fitness event to see some of
the service’sfittestmen and women
performing remarkable feats of
strength and endurance (p44), and
we also check out some of the most
awesome technology available to the
Army(p30).
There’salso an exclusiveextract
from Ant Middleton’sbook First
ManIn,which shows what it’s like
to go through the selection process
for the British Army’smostelite unit
(p40), and we takealook at the
clothing you’ll need if you’reheading
outdoors (p36).
Talking of which, we’vealso got a
load of ideas for making the mostof
the breathtaking coastwehaveon
offer in the UK (p18), as well as tips
on everything from howtocook the
perfect steak, to teaching yourself
guitar (p52).
Enjoythe mag!
LIVEYOUR LIFE
P4
CYCLING THROUGH THE GHETTO,
CAMPAIGNINGFOR CHANGE, AND
REAL-LIFE MARIO KART (SORT OF)
BEINGP14
VEGAN CHILLI, THEDOSANDDON’TS OF BEARDS,
OUR GUIDETOYOUR COAST ANDTOMORROW’S
TECH.OH, ANDABANGINGPLAYLIST
GLOVES UP P30
P22
MEETTHE BOXING GUNNERS WHOARE GOINGALL OUT
FORASHOTATWINNING OLYMPIC GOLD AT TOKYO2020
GEAR GUIDE P36
RAIN, COLD,SUNSHINE...NOMATTER WHATTIME OF
YEAR,WECAN TELLYOU THEBITSOFKITYOU NEED
TO PICK ANDTHOSE YOUCAN DO WITHOUT
FIGHTING FITP44
WE TAKE ALOOK AT BRITISH ARMY WARRIOR
FITNESS,THETHE ARMY’S ANSWER TO CROSSFIT
P44
P20
P22
P36
SKILLSP52
HOWTOTAKE YOUR SURFINGUPALEVEL,BOSS
ASTEAK,POP AWHEELIE, ANDLEARN GUITAR...
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
3

6

PEOPLE POWER
Teenagers of the world unite to save our planet
Notmany16-year-olds feature
in Time magazine’slistofthe
world’s100 mostinfluencial
people,but Greta Thunberg
does.Greta skipped school
every Fridaytoprotestabout
climate change outside the
Swedish parliament,
eventually launching an
international youth movement
committed to forcing
governments to adopt more
environmentally friendly
policies.The UK has already
seen protests in mostmajor
cities with moreonthe way.
PHOTO: NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
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5

LIVE
YOUR
LIFE
FULLYCHARGED
World’s longest urban downhill event takes in
escalators, steps and rooftops. All at 35km/h!
Thereisanever-growing list
of cray-crayevents on the
sports calendar –yes,we’re
looking at youRed Bull –but a
recent entry into the Guinness
World Records caught our eye.
The world’slongesturban
downhill event has been
registered in Medellin,
Colombia. It saw26riders
hurtle down the track through
the middle of Commune 13
overhundreds of steps,
between houses and over
rooftops to complete the
2,274m-long course in around
4minutes.Fearless readers
should check out the YouTube
footage,but whateveryou do:
‘Don’ttry this at home.’
6

PHOTO:AFP/GETTY IMAGES
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
7

LIVE
YOUR
LIFE
ANGELOF
THEKNIFE
Artist’s amazing monument addresses knife crime
The Angel of the North may
be afamous landmark in the
north-east, but the Knife
Angel, coming soon to acity
near you, might become as
well-known. The 8m (27ft)
statue,designed by artistAlfie
Bradley and the British
Ironwork CentreinShropshire,
is made entirely of knives,
manyofwhich were collected
in amnesty boxesaround the
UK as part of the ongoing Save
ALife,Surrender Your Knife
campaign. If youwant to find
out when the Knife Angel
might be near your city,head to
britishironworkcentre.co.uk
8

PHOTO: JOANNE JONES
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
9

10

LIVE
YOUR
LIFE
GRANDPRIXMODE
Q: What do you get if you mix Formula 1and Mario Kart? A: Formula E
If you’veeverwatched a
Formula 1race and found
yourself drifting off to check
your phone,then maybe
Formula Eisfor you.
While the top speeds may
not be as high (170mph
compared to around 230mph)
and the noise is waydown,
innovativefeatures mean that
the thrill factor is justashigh.
All 22 drivers (two per
team) use identical electric
cars,which levels the playing
field; drivers can get apower
boostbyentering Attack Mode
(bystraying from the racing
line in the city street circuits
at keypoints,abit likeMario
Kart); and better yet, Fan
Boostlets viewers vote to give
their favourite driver aburst
of extrapowerinthe middle
of a45-minute long race.
PHOTO: STEVENTEE/MOTORSPORT IMAGES
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
11

12

LIVE
YOUR
LIFE
WADING IN
British soldiers lend ahand in South Sudan
If youthink the Armyonly
heads overseas to fight wars,
you’dbewrong.Infact, the
British Armyregularly
provides humanitarian aid,
assistance and expertise in
countries such as South
Sudan. The soldiers pictured
hereare members of the 2nd
Battalion The Mercian
Regiment who were part of
the United Nations mission to
provide crucial infrastructure
to the war-torn country.
PHOTO: PTE BURROW/MOD/CROWN COPYRIGHT
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
13

Being
Hair of thedog
Your beardcontains morebacteria than yourealise. Until now…
PHOTOS: RYAN JLANE, AFP/GETTY IMAGES; JOE LINGEMAN/KITCHN
Arecent study has found
that men can be considered
dirtier than their traditional
best friends. According to
the European Radiology
journal, men’s beards carry
more bacteria than the
average dog’s fur.
Fortunately, that doesn’t
have to be the case for all
men, especially if you make
anote of these products
which could help make
your beard cleaner than…
er, adog.
BRAUN BT3040 BEARD
TRIMMER
With 39 ultra-precise length
settings, this cordless
trimmer takes the hassle
out of styling.
£37.50 BOOTS.COM
BULLDOG ORIGINAL BEARD
SHAMPOO &CONDITIONER
Just like the hair on your
head, facial hair needs
cleaning too, to keep those
germs at bay.
£6 (200ml) TESCO.COM
JACK BLACK
BEARD OIL
Acouple of drops will
prevent itchy skin and
hydrate your beard without
making it greasy.
£19.45 (30ml) NEWMEN.CO.UK
MURDOCK LONDON, KEATS
WOOD BEARD BRUSH
Keep it tangle-free with this
handy little brush, ideal for
pre-trimming prep and beard
maintenance.
£12 MANKIND.CO.UK
14

CANIHAVEA
BEARDINTHE ARMY?
Yesand no.It’sreally not
that simple…
When Prince Harry
married Meghan in his
Army uniform, he sported
afinely manicured beard.
Ordinarily, that wouldn’t
be allowed in the Army as
soldiers would not sport
facial hair in uniform –but
Harry was allowed as
he asked special
permission of his gran,
otherwise known as
The Queen, Head
of the Armed Forces.
Army Sergeant
Major Gavin
Paton said:
“Soldiers can have
beards but there are
caveats. If you do a
certain arduous course,
potentially you can grow
abeard. If your doctor
says that you have to for
medical reasons then you
can grow abeard. Also,
the commanding officer
has the ability to allow
people to grow beards
through tradition or
religion. We’re not saying
beards are abad thing
because more and more
people are starting to have
them as we’re becoming
more diverse, and that’s a
good thing.These policies
are consistently reviewed
so let’s see what happens
in the future.”
GO
VEGAN
ANDGO
HOME
We asked our
pals at 167
Catering Support
Regiment for an
easy vegan chilli
recipe to try
VEGANCHILLI
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)
½tablespoon sunflower oil
1medium onion, chopped
1large carrot, grated
2sticks celery, chopped
2peppers, cored and chopped
2cloves garlic, finely chopped
½cup red lentils
1tsp chilli powder
½tsp ground cumin
1400g tin chopped tomatoes
3medium tomatoes, chopped
1400g can kidney beans
1400g can black beans
freshly ground salt and pepper
small bunch flat-leafed parsley
METHOD
1. Heatthe oil in alarge,
heavy-based saucepan over
amedium heat.
2. Addthe onion, carrots,celerycelery
and peppersand fry until they
soften, in about 4minutes.
3. Addthe lentils,garlic, chilli
and cumin and fry forafurther
minute, stirring to combine.
Check theseasoning and
adjust to suit your taste.
4. Addthe tomatoes then drain
bothcans of beans and add to
thesaucepan.
5. Place alid on thesaucepan
and bring to theboil.
6. Once boiling,remove thelid,
reduce theheatand simmer for
approximately 45 minutes.
Check that it does not gettoo
dry –ifitdoes then add alittle
boiling water.
7. Check theseasoning and add
salt/pepper to taste. Sprinkle
withfreshlychopped parsley.
8. Servewithtortilla crisps and
jalapenos,gratedcheese,
guacamole… or whateverelse
else
youfancy to makethis the
perfect veganchilli.
SCOFFTIME
Food in the Army, or scoff, is an
essential part of any soldier’s day
and the options are huge. Whether
you’re vegetarian, or have religious dietary
requirements like only eating halal or kosher,
the Army has scoff for you. Correct nutrition
is essential for asoldier, and that’s especially
true during atraining exercise when ration
packs keep everyone going over days and
weeks. Typically, avegan ration pack may
contain some of the following:
Pasta and bean salad; Tomato and
basil soup; Chickpea curry;
Stem ginger oat biscuits;
Chilli peanuts
WITHTHANKSTO THE 167 CATERING SUPPORT REGIMENT OFTHE ROYALLOGISITC CORPS
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15

Being
YOUR
PHONE
IN 2025
Want to knowwhatyour
phone will do in five years?
Read on...
PHOTOS: BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES;YUMMYTIME, DENIS DRYASHKIN/ADOBESTOCK
16

The average person checks their phone
every 12 minutes. Mad, but not
surprising. Mobile internet is decent,
the games are quality, then there’s the
’gram, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter, FB
etc. The social media pressure is real.
Plus, there’s Netflix.
It wasn’t so long ago that people were
busting out Snake onachunky Nokia,
yet afew years later, folding screens are
now anactual thing (left). Which begs
the question, how will your phone be
different in afew years’ time?
Beefier batteries
‘Does anyone have an iPhone
charger?’ It’s the most-repeated
phrase in our office –maybe even the
world –and that’s because current
phone batteries are rubbish. Don’t worry
though, many ofthe world’s top nerds
are working on better ways to power
your phone. For example, Samsung has
reportedly designed agraphene battery
that can be fully charged in around 12
minutes. There are other solutions, too,
such assolid-state lithium-ion batteries,
which would increase battery capacity
and charging speed, while also being
more stable. Winner.
Charging everywhere
What if we didn’t have to
charge our phones at all?
Several companies are working on
long-distance wireless charging so that
our phones are constantly powered.
We’ve seen successful prototypes that
use infrared beams, radio frequencies
and magnetic induction. The technology
is still in its infancy, but it won’t belong
before your phone starts charging as
soon as you walk into aroom. From
there, it’s not impossible to imagine a
scenario where the technology is applied
outdoors –imagine never running out of
juice again!
Mind control
Controlling your phone with
your brain sounds alittle far
fetched, but it’s actually already in the
works. Facebook, for example, is
working on abrain-computer interface
that will let you type using your mind –
supposedly five times faster than your
slow, cumbersome fingers. Presumably,
THESOCIALARMY
The code of Army life online
Contrary to what you might think,
soldiers are allowed phones and can
be active on social media.There are,
however, afew rules you need to be
aware of if you’re asoldier and like a
bit of social.These include:
Turn off geo-tagging –there might
be situations where it would be
unwise to reveal your location
Think carefully about posting
pictures of yourself or others in
uniform, for security reasons
Personal posts have to abide by
Army standards and values. For
example: respect for others, being
lawful and professional
The way you act online should not
be different to how you act in person
that’s just the start. Imagine thinking of
aquestion and having the answer
Googled instantly? Or editing an image
exactly how you imagined it would look?
Just try not to think about how scary the
concept is (because your phone can read
your thoughts).
5G is the key
Slow internet is the worst.
Thankfully, 5Gwill make
everything better. Itshould be anywhere
between 10-100 times faster than the
current 4G network, and that opens up
massive possibilities –faster browsing,
higher-quality streaming, instant
downloads and no buffering!
Gaming
Mobile gaming has rocketed in
popularity inrecent years, and
it’s only getting bigger.The next big
change is likely to be the introduction of
game-streaming. Google, Microsoft,
Sony and co are all already working on
Netflix-style services for games where
you pay amonthly subscription and
choose to play games from ahuge
catalogue –the processing is done
elsewhere, so no need to wait for games
to install. Imagine smashing some
console-quality FIFA, COD, Fortnite etc.
while waiting for atrain.
NEWNOISE
Looking for
anew jam? Army
Musician Rob
Jakeman tells us
what he’s currently
listening to
The Bros. Landreth
White Denim
The Japanese House
Sundara Karma
The Tallest Man On Earth
Case/Lang/Veirs
GETPAIDTOPLAY...
To find out more about life as
an Army musician, see p62
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17

Being
Make the
most of
thecoast
Don’t save the beach for the summer months.
Here’s our guide to some of the things you can
do whether the sun’s shining or not
PHOTOS: MIKE MCENNERNEY, SIAN PEARCE GORDON/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; BERNARD RADVANER/GETTY IMAGES
One of the benefits of living on an island
is that pretty much wherever you live
you are never too far from the coast. In
fact, the furthest from the sea you can
ever beinthe UK is 70 miles, at Coton in
the Elms, Derbyshire, but that’s another
story. So we really should make more
use of our coastline, rather than merely
the occasional visit to cool off atthe
beach when the temperature soars.
After all, the coast is for life, not just for
summer. Here are afew of the things
that are on offer atsome of the more
unexpected parts of the UK coast.
Wild camping at Sandwood Bay,
Scotland
If you want to get away from it all, it’s no
good going to Blackpool or Newquay. If
isolation is what you’re after you need to
make aneffort. Our tip is to head north
to Scotland where there are many
pristine and quiet beaches and wild
camping is less of an issue. Sandwood
Bay is one such mile-long sandy stretch
and, if you feel strong enough to carry it
for the four-mile walk from the car park,
bring asurfboard as the beach-break
here is as beautiful as it comes.
Diving with seals at Farne Island,
Northumberland
Pretty much everyone’s bucket list
includes ‘swimming with dolphins’ and
fair enough, we’re sure that is ablast.
But the next best thing is swimming
Get to grips with the
sport climbing routes at
Dancing Ledge, Dorset
18

Seal it with
akiss, at The
Farne islands
with grey seals and you can do that in
the UK. The Farne Islands –acluster of
small rocky outcrops south of Lindisfarne
–are home to alarge colony offriendly
grey seals. So if you fancy frollicking in
the water with abunch ofseals pulling at
your flippers get in touch with Farne
Island Divers and book atrip.
Climbing at Dancing Ledge, Dorset
The Dorset coast is famed for its rock
formations and one in particular attracts
sport climbers. Dancing Ledge is the site
of an old quarry right on the water’s
edge. There are plenty ofroutes up the
10mcliff face of varying degrees of
difficulty. But if it all gets too much for
you, you can always cool off inone of
the plunge pools that form at low tide.
Mountain biking at The Gower, Wales
One of the best ways to explore the
coast is on two wheels and there are
few better stretches than The Gower.
Starting at The Gower Heritage Centre,
head up Cefn Bryn ridge then west to
one of the best coastal trails in the UK,
at Rhossili Beach. Bearing north-east
away from the top of the beach you
climb the ridge again to head home to
complete aspectacular 25-mile loop.
Twofeet good; two
wheels better. MTB
your way round
The Gower
Kite surfing at Hunstanton,
North Norfolk
North Norfolk is ahidden gem, full of
wide, long sandy beaches with plenty of
room for everyone. Maybe that’s why it’s
apopular spot for kitesurfers. That, and
the abundance of wind –witness
the nearby turbines of Sheringham
Offshore Wind Farm. So, if you fancy
trying your hand at kitesurfing head
east and book yourself some tuition
at Hunstanton Watersports.
Kayaking at Portstewart Sands,
Northern Ireland
If you’re not afan of sand between your
toes, or anywhere else for that matter,
maybe you should look at ways to enjoy
the coastline from the water.The North
Coast Sea KayakTrail is a70nautical mile
route round the coast of Northern Ireland.
It can take several days to complete, but
you can rent akayak and dip in and out at
places such asPortstewart Sands or the
Giant’s Causeway.
SOLDIER’SCHOICE
The Army’s coastal retreat
Name: Captain Rachel Gibbs,
RLC, ArmyClimbing Team
As soldiers, we are lucky
enough to be able to base
ourselves at either the
AdventurousTraining
centre on Anglesey or the one in
Snowdonia and from there go round
the various routes of North Wales.
Some of them are literally right on the
coast on the sea cliffs with the waves
pretty much lapping at your feet. It’s
pretty awesome.
TO GETTHE MOST OUT OFTHESE ACTIVITIES FORTHE FIRSTTIME SAFELYWERECOMMEND SEEKING PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE
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Being
20

Meet the
real-life
Corporal William
‘Bill’ Livingston
as asoldier
(below), and
comic book
hero (left)
comicbook
superhero
Awesome tributeunveiled forone of Britain’s unsung warheroes
These comic strips may look like
something out of the pages of a
Marvel magazine, but they are
actually the real-life story of one of the
unsung heroes of the British Army.
The extraordinary WWII efforts of
Corporal William ‘Bill’ Livingston
have been captured in comic book
form as his story won acompetition
organised by BFBS (which provides
media services to the UK Armed
Forces worldwide) to find the most
inspirational tales of British military
men and women.
Bill’s story was entered into the
competition by his son Phillip, and his
incredible four-and-a-half years of
service during the war have now been
immortalised in comic book form by
writers and artists from Marvel and
DC Comics, including writer Ferg
Handley and illustrator Mike Collins.
The competition was organised to
mark Remembrance 100 –last year’s
100th anniversary of the end of WWI
–and to help raise awareness about
the heroism and sacrifices made by
those serving in the Armed Forces.
And Bill’s story is asuperb example
of those qualities and so much more.
The 24-page story called Fantastic
Forces –The Longest Road begins in
the summer of 1939 just before the
outbreak of war when Bill joined the
5th RoyalTank Regiment –despite
being under-age.
Although he trained to drive tanks,
Bill became alorry driver and first
saw action in North Africa as one of
the famous Desert Rats, fighting
Rommel’s notorious Afrika Korps.
Bill’s astonishing journey also took
him to fight in Italy, and then to
France and Belgium, before finishing
in Germany when the war ended.
Along the way, he narrowly escaped
death on many different occasions, all
of which are depicted in the comic
strips, giving Bill an air of the
superheroes who usually grace the
pages of comic books.
The comic book was created by BFBS
to mark Remembrance 2018, the full
digital comic book can be found at
forces.net
PHOTOS: STOCKDEVIL/ADOBESTOCK
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WORDS MATT LIZZIMORE
PHOTOS ANDREW SHAYLOR
Army boxers
Karriss and Tori tell
us what it’s like to
fight for their
Olympic dream
22

RING OF DREAMS
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his is the besttraining facility youcan
ask for really,” says Gunner Tori-Ellis
Willetts as she gestures to the
enormous gym filled with boxing rings,
punching bags,and every other bit of
boxing paraphernalia youcould caretoimagine.“This is
areally good place to be.You knowthat you’regetting the
bestfromthe bestpeople.”
She’snot wrong.We’reatthe English Institute of Sport
in Sheffield and it’s basically amedal factory.It’sherethat
Team GB’sboxing programme is based, and have no
doubt, this is the bestboxing programme in the world.
The Performance Director is none other than Rob
McCracken, current trainer of IBF,IBO,WBO and WBA
(Super) World Heavyweight Champion AnthonyJoshua.
Forboxing alone,they have aroster of dedicated
experts armed with the latestmethods of improving
performance –we’retalking individual experts for sports
medicine,physiotherapyand soft tissue therapy, strength
and conditioning,physiology,psychology,performance
analysis and even alifestyle coach. If youwant to have
your hand raised at the Olympics with agold medal hung
around your neck, this is exactly whereyou want to be.
ForTori and fellowGunner (a rank equivalent to
private in the RoyalArtillery) Karriss Artingstall, winning
that Olympic gold is the dream. “I followedNicola Adams
as an amateur,and Iactually got to go to the 2012
Olympics and watch afew of the amateurs in the
tournaments,” says Tori. “I loveditand thought ‘this is
whereIwant to get to.Iwant to go to the Olympics and
win amedal. Iwant to be likeNicola Adams.’”
Karriss is very much in agreement: “The Olympics is
the place to be –everyone’saim and goal is to reach the
2020 Olympics.Ijustneed to get as manygold medals
as Ican in the lead up to the Olympics and hopefully
qualify.” Indeed, the hunger from both boxers is clear.
The focus is written across their faces.The pair of them
eat, sleep and breathe boxing.
If the Olympics is the goal, there’snoshortage of
inspiration here. The room is ringed with photos of
Olympic medal-winning boxers that trained in this very
gym –great fighters such as Adams,LukeCampbell,
Joshua, James DeGale,Amir Khan and Audley Harrison
look down proudly.The message is clear,ifnot
inescapable: this could be you.
Right now, both soldiers’ immediate focus is to crack on
with training,box regularly in tournaments for Team GB,
and try to come back with some gold medals.That
success will be important, because the natureofthe
Olympic programme is rather brutal. Thereisonly one
Olympic spot for each weight –yet thereismorethan one
athlete on the programme for each weight. If you’rea
KARRISS
ARTINGSTALL
AGE: 24
LOCATION: Scotland
RANK: Gunner
JOB: Boxer
BOXING WEIGHT: 57kg
EXPERIENCE: ARoyal
Artillery soldier who joined
the Army because she
didn’t want an office job.
Karriss won the England
Development
Championships in 2016
as well as the Elite
Championships in 2018.
She was added to the GB
Boxing World Class
Programme, and has won
her past two international
tournaments. She is a
member of the full-time
podium squad and atop
candidate forTokyo 2020.
BEST BIT: “Mixing in with
the boxers. It’s agood
laugh up here.They’re
agood bunch ofpeople.
Youneed that when
you’re training.”
WORST BIT:“The diet!
That’s the hardest part of
boxing for me.”
24

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25

WHAT ISTHE ENGLISH INSTITUTE OF SPORT?
The top-class facilities and experts driving GB athletes to greater success
The EIS is abig deal for
sport inGreat Britain. It
works with more than 40
Olympic, Paralympic,
Winter Olympic and
National sports, and it’s
pretty good at it –ifTeam
GB is enjoying success,
there’s agood chance EIS
was involved at some point.
Take the 2016 Olympics
in Rio –31ofthe 34 sports
that won amedal forTeam
GB and Paralympics GB
were involved with the EIS
–not too shabby.
The institute uses its
network of eight High
Performance Centres to
provide athletes and
coaches with top-notch
facilities that are specifically
designed for elite athletes.
The institute has more
than 350 members ofstaff
working across several
areas of expertise to
provide arange of sport
science and medical
services that improve the
health, fitness, training and
ultimately the performance
of elite athletes.
26

RING OF DREAMS
TORI-ELLIS
WILLETTS
AGE: 24
LOCATION: Birmingham
RANK: Gunner
JOB: Boxer
BOXING WEIGHT: 51kg
EXPERIENCE: Originally a
kickboxer,Tori switched to
boxing for ashot at the
Olympics dream. She
joined the Army asaRoyal
Artillery soldier and won
the England Elite title, then
theThree Nations title, and
won the England Amateur
Championships 2019.She
is now on the full-time
potential podium squad
and is in the running for
Tokyo 2020.
BEST BIT: “I love all of it!
Ilove training and fighting.
Ilove going away.”
WORST BIT:“Trying not to
stress myself out. Ilike to
perfect things, and when
Ican’t get something right,
Ilike toconstantly do it
and do it and do it until
Iget it right. So Istress
myself out, even though
Ishouldn’t.”
“I knew theArmy
couldhelpmepushon,
butIdidn’trealise the
regiment wouldbeso
supportiveatsucha
highlevel”
boxeronthe programme,that’s some
pretty unsavoury maths.
The result is abizarresituation in which
your teammates,with whom youtrain
regularly,are your direct competition –
they arethe only people standing in the
wayofyour Olympic dream.
“I guess thereisalwaysthat bit of
atmosphere,”saysTori, who has justbeen
promoted to the full-time ‘potential
podium’ squad. “You alwayswant to be
better in sparring.You want that Number
One spot. Youwant to be going to
tournaments.You want to be winning
medals.Soitiscompetitive.”
It’s an odd situation, but mostthings
about boxing are. It’s one of the only
Olympic sports for which acountry can’t
send professional athletes –eventhough
mostwouldn’tget on the team anyway.It’s
pretty fitting then that both Tori and
Karriss’sjourneys to this point have also
been rather unusual. Tori actually began
fighting as akickboxer, but switched to
boxing because she wanted achance to
fight at the Olympics.Later,anencounter
with the Armyboxing team would help
takeTori’scareer to anew level.
“When Iused to boxasacivilian, Isaw
the Armyboxing team at Haringey Box
Cup,” she recalls.“So Iapproached one of
the boxers and asked ‘howdoyou become
afull-time boxerinthe Army? I’dreally
liketojoin and this is what I’dwant to do.’
She told me I’dhavetodomytraining,and
once Iwas in, if Iwas at an elite level,
Icould join the team through atrial.”
Sureenough, Tori applied to join the Army
and did her basic training at Winchester for
14 weeks,beforeshe joined the Royal
Artillery for Phase Twoofher training in
Larkhill. After joining her regiment, it
wasn’tlong beforethe Armysaw her potential as aboxer
and, after atrial, she wasadded to the Armyboxing team.
Karriss,meanwhile,joined the Armyafter deciding she
didn’twant to work in an office-based environment. “I
needed to be hands-on and active, so Ithought the Army
wasthe right place to be,” she says.Karriss had boxed
beforejoining the Army, but it wastwo years beforeshe
rekindled her love of the noble art. “I got in touch with
somebody who wasinvolved in boxing in the Army.
Ijoined at regimental levelatfirst. From thereIwent on
to Corps leveland boxedinthe Haringey BoxCup for the
RoyalArtillery.Iwon and progressed to Armylevel and
got into the ArmyGold squad.”
That’s when things got serious for both boxers.Tori and
Karriss explain that when youreach the ArmyGold
squad, you’reperforming at such ahigh levelthat the
Armygives youthe opportunity to represent them and
boxfull time.And it’s apretty major step up in training.
“You’retraining three times aday,doing strength and
conditioning,runs,bag work, pad work, technical work,
sparring with all different kinds of people,and youget
individual coaching,” Tori explains.“Whereas,when
Iwas working on civvy street, I’dbegoing to work for
eight hours,coming home,going to the gym for two
hours,and doing that every single day. It took atoll on
me.Ithink three sessions aday in the Armyisharder,but
because you’resodedicated to the sport, you’reactually
doing what youwant to do.”
“I knew the Armycould help me push on, but Ididn’t
realise the regiment would be so supportiveatsuch ahigh
level,”adds Karriss.“Youget all your strength and
conditioning,all your nutrition, you’vegot everything
therethat youneed. My regiment offers me support and
allows me the time off work to justfocus solely on boxing.
Evenwhen I’m up heretraining with Team GB,they’re
supportive. Ihad my regiment come down the other week
justtosee howthings ranuphere. And obviously,they
help with kit and that, because,believe it or not, even just
abit of headgear is expensiveand the regiment help
support and fund that for you. Istill get my Armywage,
which obviously helps alot with the travel between my
base camp and up hereand with the kit that Ineed etc.”
This rigorous new training regime –which closely
mirrors that of Team GB –prepared both boxers for the
high demands of this elite levelofthe sport, and with it
came immediate success.Within only twoyears of joining
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
27

“I hadtogiveit
everythingIhad.Iwas
boxing back-to-back
days…Ijusthad to
emptythe tank and
getthe win”
the Army, Tori wonthe England Elite 51kg
title,and shortly followedthat up with a
big victory in the Three Nations title.With
that sweet success came acall-up from
Team GB,and things have only got better
since: “I boxedrecently in the England
Amateur Championships and successfully
defended my title to become atwo-time
national champion. And I’vejustgot back
from Poland –myfirstinternational
tournament for GB –whereIwon bronze.
It’s agood start.”
Karriss also shot up through the ranks
after winning the England Development
Championships in 2016. Then, in 2018 she
smashed the Elite Championships and
wasvery quickly on Team GB’sradar.She
has since wonher lasttwo international
tournaments in Eastern Europe.
“It’sclass because the people you’re
againstare not justfromyour country;
you’reagainstwhatevercountry is put
in front of you. In Hungary,Iboxed
Thailand, Hungary and then Russia. So
beating the Hungarian in her country was
unreal. Ihad to giveiteverything Ihad;
Iwas boxing back-to-back days…Ijust
had to empty the tank and get the win.
Iwas overthe moon with it.”
Butwith this huge step-up in intensity
and competition comes the inevitable
increased risk of injury –aterrifying
ever-present danger and constant threat to
the Olympic dream. One that both boxers
areall too familiar with.
“I damaged the tendons in my wrist,”
says Tori. “Itwas amassivesetback.
Icouldn’tbend it, couldn’tbrush my hair
or unscrew abottle or anything likethat.
So it wasquite hard. Iwas thinking that
Iwasn’tgoing to punch again. It wasreally
tough mentally and physically,not being
able to train properly.”
Herwristinjury sawTori sidelined for 10 months,and
Karriss is justfinishing recovering from aknee injury
–not that you’dknowitasshe dances around the ring,
flashing the leather with some slick combinations.
Thankfully though, as Karriss explains,with the step up
in training comes astep up in support.
“The physios areall overit,”she says.“Youget seen
once or twice aday.They see howyou’refeeling during
sessions,orhelp youwarm up.
“It’shard, it gets into your head when you’reinjured,
because youcan’ttrain as much as you’dwant to.It’sabit
disheartening.But you’vejustgot to be here, you’vegot to
showyour face and do what the physios say. And they do
everything they possibly can –the rehab,the exercises,
taping up,eventhe little things,justkeeping an eyeonit
and making sureyou’reheaded in the right direction.”
With both boxers nowfighting fit,
focus returns to Olympic
preparations and an upcoming
training camp in Germany, in
which both boxers will continue
to hone their skills and testtheir mettle againsttop-class
opposition. While the 2020 Olympics,the
Commonwealth Games and the 2024 Olympics arethe
immediate concern, the rise of the professional game in
women’sboxing means the paid ranks of the sport are
also becoming amoreviable option. With the likes of
Katie Taylor nowlighting up pay-per-view events and
boxing in front of asold-out crowd at NewYork’s
legendary Madison SquareGarden, is the possibility
of turning protempting?
“I’vethought about it,”saysKarriss.“I’m along way
off that though. Iwant to try to qualify for the Olympics
first, and even if Idon’t, Istill want to stay on because
the Commonwealths areonly twoyears after that,
Iwant to givethem abash. I’m 24 now, so maybe after the
Commonwealths I’dlook into turning pro, or even look at
staying on another cycle until the next Olympics,itjust
depends howeverything progresses,I’vedefinitely got
agood few years left herethough.”
It’s clear that neither boxerisreally looking pastthe
Olympics right now–and given the levelofcompetition,
they can ill affordto. Norisitlostonthem the incredible
opportunity that stands beforethem. Foranup-andcoming
boxer, this is undoubtedly the dream. “I love all
of it,”saysTori. “I love training and fighting.Ilove going
away.Ilove justbeing in the gym. It’s agood life... It’s
agood life.”
28

RING OF DREAMS
When did you start
Taekwondo?
My dad took me to my
first lesson when Iwas
eight-years-old. Iwas
super shy and had never
done anything more than
the usual brother-sister
scrapping at that age. My
parents were keen for me
to learn how to defend
myself from ayoung age
and build my confidence
as aperson.
How much training do
you have to do?
BLADE OFGLORY
Aquick word with Army Taekwondo champion, Sophie Bladek
Three evenings per week
and Ilike tosupplement
that with two evenings of
HIIT cardio conditioning
and flexibility training.
Periodically the Army
Team will attend intensive
Taekwondo training
camps throughout the
year.They run Monday
to Friday and will involve
at least four hours of
physical activity each day.
They are invaluable for
giving you the edge over
your opponents in
upcoming competitions.
What’s the highlight of
your career so far?
There have been so
many!The most pleasant
and unexpected surprise
was being nominated for
the Army Sports Rising
Star of theYear Award and
receiving aSponsorship
from BAE Systems to help
fund myTaekwondo
endeavours.
What’s the worst injury
you’ve suffered from
Taekwondo?
Before Ijoined the Army
Isuffered apartial tear on
my ACL (knee ligament).
Iwas showing off with a
fancy jump splits kick and
botched the landing.
Taekwondo fights are well
controlled by qualified
referees, but you can
expect to come away with
some juicy bruises,
bloody noses and so on.
Tell us about your role
in the Army?
Ijoined the Army in2016
in the role of Human
Resources Specialist. No
matter what your role in
the Army is, if you have
apassion for sport and
have proven your
commitment to aim high
and achieve, you will be
helped as much as
possible. When Ifirst
joined Ihad no idea there
was anArmyTaekwondo
Team and now, injust a
few short years, Iamthe
TriService Champion,
Regional and National
champion and, most
recently, Discipline Lead
for ITF (traditional style)
Taekwondo in the Army.
What would be your
advice to someone
considering taking up
anew sport like
Taekwondo?
Be brave. It’s abig ask to
takeupanew sport or
hobby not knowing what
you’re getting into. We’ve
all been there, and made
that decision to attend the
first class.That’s the
hardest part over and now
you have areason to get
offthe sofa in the evening.
Taekwondo is amartial art
steeped in discipline, but
you’re there to enjoy it.
Even if competitions
aren’t your cup of tea,
kicking apad as hard as
you can after abad day
is the best waytovent.
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
29

30
OF THE
T
Not only is the Army’s range of
robot vehicles awesome and cool,
they might also save human lives
WORDS
ACHI
DOMINIC BLISS PHOTOS SIMON FERNANDEZ

ROBOTWARS
NES
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 31

It’slikesomething out of
Terminator.One of the
scarier scenes when the
machines start hunting
down the humans.
The skies above us are
buzzing with military drones,
some the size of songbirds,
others likehuge-winged
’raptors.All around us,remotecontrolled
military vehicles are
patrolling the muddy landscape.
On one side an unmanned
vehicle rushes past, loaded with
supplies.Onthe other,an
excavator is clearing logs and an
abandoned car,picking its way
through the debris with ease.
Perhaps mostominous of all is
an armoured vehicle called the
Titan Strike. Acouple of metres
long,itsits on twocaterpillar
tracks.Mounted on top is a
.50 calibremachine gun which
spins round in different
directions as the soldier
controlling it taps buttons on his
remote control. Fortunately no
ammunition is being used here.
It’s not Terminator yet.
This is the culmination of a
four-week British Armytrial of
robotic vehicles called Exercise
Autonomous Warrior.The
setting is aMinistry of Defence
training facility on Salisbury
Plain called Copehill Down.
Built in 1988 to resemble a
German village,it’saghosttown
of run-down Bavarian-style
houses,abandoned cars and
random piles of rubble –all
designed to train British forces
in the fine art of urban warfare.
Thanks to huge advances in
technology,the British Armyis
nowusing moreautonomous
vehicles and drones than ever
before. Forthis exercise,50or
so manufacturers from all overthe
world have supplied around 80
different devices –some airborne,
others land-based –designed for
surveillance,communication, resupply,
obstacle-clearing,evacuation and
combat. British soldiers were given the
BLACK HORNET
FLIGHT RANGE
32
2KM
UNMANNED COMPACTTRACK LOADER
This vehicle can perform combat engineering tasks
like breaching obstacles such asbarricades or
barbed wire from asafe distance of up to 10km.

“You can see round
corners,into dark
rooms or down
corridors,even
at night”
CORPORAL RYAN DONNELLY
ROBOTWARS
MOBILE-AUDS
The M-AUDS sits on an
armoured vehicle and
tracks drones or any
other Unmanned Arial
Vehicles (UAVs). It has
the capability to track
and ultimately shoot
down suspicious UAVs
X-2 UGV
UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE
3TONNES
TOWING CAPABILITY
TITAN STRIKE
TheTitan Strike (left) is a
robotic weapon system
that is designed to be
operated by asoldier
from apostion of safety
in asituation where to
engage the enemy
would put lives at risk
chance to put them through their paces
in all sorts of warfarescenarios.
Corporal RyanDonnelly,from1st
Battalion RoyalRegiment of Fusiliers,
wasdemonstrating arobot called the
Throwbot 2. Just afew centimetres
long,with twowheels and an infrared
camera, it’s designed to be thrown
inside buildings during urban warfare
to find out wherethe hostiles are
hiding.“Youcan see round corners,
into dark rooms or down corridors,
even at night,”explains Cpl Donnelly
as he lobs the tinyrobot into one of
Copehill Down’sabandoned buildings.
“You operate it similar to aremotecontrolled
toycar.Itcan also set off a
140-decibel explosivecharge to distract
the enemy. It’s almostindestructible.
I’venot managed to break one yet.”
Nearby, Corporal Bill Kelly,from1st
Battalion Mercian Regiment, is showing
off an unmanned vehicle on caterpillar
tracks called the X-2. “It’sreally useful
when youdon’twant to endanger a
soldier,” he says.“Forreconnaissance
or checking for IEDs,(Improvised
ExplosiveDevices) for example.You
can investigate with its cameras,orput
chemical or biological sensors on it.
Youcan even mount aweapon on it.”
The variety of different vehicles on
displayisastounding.Aneight-wheeled
amphibious supply vehicle called the
Hippo ATSV (All Terrain Support
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 33

“It’sall about putting metal
beforeflesh. Why place human life
in harm’s way when we can use an
autonomous system instead?”
COLONEL PETER ROWELL
REMOTE CONTROL
Most autonomous
vehicles are controlled
by handheld devices a
bit like amobile phone
(far bottom right)
THROWBOT2
TheThrowbot is, as its
name suggests, athrowable
robot that can be
used to offer ‘situational
awareness’ attimes that
would otherwise put
soldiers’ lives at risk
Vehicle) is splashing onlookers as it
executes 360s in the mud. Next to it
is aThreod KX-4 surveillance drone
which can hoverupto80metres above
its mother vehicle while it spies on
enemypositions.Then there’sthe
Rakka3000,originally developed for
forestry work, which can dig trenches
and remove obstacles.“It can also break
through barbed wire,”saysSapper
Lewis Hatch from the RoyalEngineers
as he operates it, “so that soldiers don’t
injurethemselves.”
Having the mostfun of all is the Royal
Artillery drone racing team. Hunkered
down in camping chairs,they are
manically twiddling their thumbs as
they fly tinyfour-propeller drones
around an outdoor obstacle circuit,
up and down, back and forth through
gates,buzzing furiously.
“Wehaveeight soldiers with the
skills to race drones,” explains Major
Karl Eze,who runs the team. “These
drones can go from 0-60 mph in
0.2seconds,with atop speed of 100mph.
They crash alot but they’remade of
carbon fibresothey’repretty sturdy.”
At much lowerspeeds,uponthe
brow of anearbyhill, Rifleman Owen
Stringer of The Rifles is remotely
controlling asupport vehicle called the
Themis (Tracked Hybrid Modular
Infantry System), designed for resupply
and casualty evacuation, with atop
speed of 20kmh. “It’seasy,quick, sharp
on the turn,”hesaysofhis new toy.
“I punched it straight through a
roadblock. It picked up the casualty
and returned him 300 metres to me in
under 40 seconds which would be
critical if someone wasreally injured.”
Saving human lives is one of the key
reasons for the Army’scontinued
investment in robotic vehicles.As
Colonel Peter Rowell explains: “It’s
all about putting metal beforeflesh.
Whyonearth would we place very
precious human life in harm’sway
when we can use an expendable
autonomous system instead?”
Buthestresses howhuman
soldiers will alwaysbe
operating these autonomous
systems.“Our government is
very clear: therewill always
be ahuman in the loop,
controlling the decisions.”
UnlikeTerminator,then.
THROWBOT 2
137 METRES
VIDEO TRANSMITTER
34

ROBOTWARS
RACING DRONE
100MPH
TOP SPEED
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 35

TP
Everything
you need
to wear
if you’re
heading
outdoors,
whatever
the weather
If you’rethe sort of person who
relishes agood hike, or anyother
outdoor pursuit, you’reprobably also
the sort of person who cares about
what youwear while you’reout there.
And given the very changeable
weather we face on our island, it can
often be abit of anightmaretowork
out what youneed for your dayinthe
fresh air.
Butfear not, for we have enlisted
the help of SgtMatthew Kerr (left),
Adventurous Training Instructor at
the Joint Service Mountain Training
Centre(JSMTC), to let youknow
exactly what youneed to wear.
JSMTC use challenging outdoor
environments to expose soldiers to
controlled risk, developing leaders
and instructors,and building soldiers’
resilience for operations.
“Ensuring soldiers deploywith the
right kit is the firststep in their
journey to ensuretheir teams aren’t
increasing their risk to exposureinall
conditions,sothey can focus on the
challenge at hand,”saysSgt Kerr.
“Aneffectivelayering system is
the keytostaying warm, dry and
comfortable in all conditions.There’s
no established formula for alayering
system, as the type of layers youneed
depend on the type of activity and
weather conditions.However,
understanding howeach layerworks
independently,and as part of asystem
will help to build an effectivelayering
system for your adventures.”
GE R
36
PHOTOS PIXELEYES

OUTDOOR CLOTHING
Sigma SL Anorak
Women’s, Arc’teryx
Breathable softshell is ideal
for outdoor activities
GR Sun Hat, Montane
Ventilated sun hat offering
UPF 50+ protection
Bail XP460
sunglasses, BLOC
Impact resistant lenses with
UVAand UVB protection
Razor T-shirt, Montane
Awicking layer close to the
skin is agood base
AWARM SUMMER’S DAY
Aloose-fitting, wickingT-shirt and
lightweight trousers will help
your sweat evaporate and keep
you cool. Sun protection is
essential, so that’s sunglasses
and sun hat, but also
long-sleeves for when the sun
cream isn’t enough.
Don’t let our fickle British
weather fool you. It’s common to
experience all four seasons in
one day, sodon’t leave home
without amid-layer or softshell,
and even lightweight
waterproofs, hat and gloves if it’s
alow-confidence forecast.
Ibex Mountain Pant,
Mountain Equipment
In cooler conditions these are
agreat cover-up option
Comici Trail Short,
Mountain Equipment
Zipped thigh pockets keep
essentials secure
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
37

Zeno Jacket,
Mountain Equipment
Waterproof layer with plenty
of ventilation
Super Alpine Glove,
Mountain Equipment
Softshell gloves can offer
warmth and good grip in
wet conditions
Rolling Stripe Toque
Men’s, Arc’Teryx
Keep your head warm and
you’ll really feel the benefit
Razor T-shirt, Montane
Don’tgoout without a
wicking base layer
Zeno Pant, Mountain
Equipment
Active fit waterproof
breathable layer
Women’s Medusa
Hoodie, Montane
Lightweight and fast-drying
insulating layer
AWET
AND WINDY DAY
Classic British conditions!This is
where you’ll need to deploy the
three main layers. Start with a
wicking base layer as normal,
then on top you’ll need a
mid-layer to insulate you, and
breathable waterproofs to keep
you dry. Swap out shorts for
trousers and pack heavier-weight
gloves and awarm hat.
38

OUTDOOR CLOTHING
Razor T-shirt, Montane
Everything starts with the
right base
Fitzroy Jacket,
Mountain Equipment
The ultimate cold weather
functionality for when the
going gets tough
Windjammer Beanie,
Montane
Merino wool and a
windstopper lining
Zeno Pant, Mountain
Equipment
Waterproof, breathable
and durable outer layer
Montane Neutron
Hoodie
Easy-to-wear warm
mid-layer fleece
Guide Glove,Mountain
Equipment
Warm all-rounder gloves with
acowhide leather palm
ACOLD WINTER’S DAY
Finally, inreally cold
temperatures you’ll need it all.
Add in asynthetic insulated
jacket, which can be worn over
the top of everything –often
referred to as abelay jacket. One
more top tip: despite the
marketing hype, no gloves are
waterproof so take multiple pairs
and change them regularly.
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE
39

40

SPECIAL FORCES
THE
MAKING
OF AN ELITE
SOLDIER
Former special forces operative Ant Middleton
lifts the lid on the brutal selection process
for Britain’s toughest units
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 41

You know him from Channel 4show SAS: Who
DaresWins,but you may not know verymuch
about AntMiddleton’s background. In this
exclusive extract from his best-selling book First
ManIn,wefind out about the brutal Special
Forces selection training that Antunderwent
in Wales in 2008.
Selection for the Special Forces (either the Army’sSAS
or the Navy’sSBS)isasix-month process and the section
from the book that followsisahugely challenging,
four-week hill phase in the Brecon Beacons in afreezing
January, featuring “the hardest, fiercest, strongest,
brightest, most relentless,and wily soldiers that the
combined British armed forces could produce”, according
to Ant. Buthetells the storyway better than we can…
The Drill Sergeant’s instructions were as brief as
they were unpleasant: ‘Right, get round f***ing Dicky
BowWood.’
Dicky BowWood. I’dheardabout this place.Itwas
named for its figure-of-eight bow-tie shape and lies
in the basin of avalley.And it wastough. We’d pulled
up less than amile away from it and Icould see it
down there–dark and wetand foreboding.Itook off,
at firsttowards the front of the group,but Iquickly
found myself falling back, and this time it wasn’t
tactical. The dayhad hardly begun, and Iwas already
aching and tired. It was
Afghanistan. Iwas
“I FELTLIKEABLUEWHALEHAD
LANDEDONMYHEAD… NOW
IHAD TO GETTHISSACKOF
BRAWN UPTHE 100M HILL”
Ant Middleton is
most familiar to us
for his role in SAS:
Who Dares Wins
suffering for it.
Whereas all the other
guys had been looking after
themselves and getting in
the practice,onthe run-up
to Selection I’dbeen living
in the desert, eating basic
rations and doing fourteen-hour patrols
under stressful conditions.I’d got into
the habit of necking protein shakes,
which were helping abit, but my body
wasbeginning to feel distinctly ragged.
This wasn’tanencouraging sign, on the
second week of asix-month programme
that’s designed to get morebrutal with
every daythat passes.Ifinished that
firstgoaround Dicky BowWood
panting,damp and anxious.We’dall
found the DS waiting for us at the foot
of ascree-coveredhill that rose steeply
over100 metres.
Without letting us catch our breath
he issued the next instruction: ‘Grab
whoever’sclosesttoyou and fireman’s
carry them up to the top.’ BeforeIhad
the chance to see who wasbeside me,
Ifelt apair of cold hands grip the backs
of my thighs and Iwas in the air,then
oversome shoulders.Itwas alunkheaded
giant from Redcar everyone
knew as Crash. Iknew whyhe’dchosen
me: Iwas the shortest.
ButIwasn’texactly light. Within
minutes he waspanting,dropping me
into the muddy gravel every few metres
beforebundling me back up overhis
butcher’s shoulders for another go.By
the time we reached the top Iwas
bruised and pissed off.For all the size
of him, he had no stamina.
‘Right!’ shouted the DS.‘Get back
down the f***ing hill, then swap over.’
Ilooked at Crash in disbelief.S**t.
Ididn’tevencome up to his chin. How
the f*** wasI…?Wereached the base
of the hill. Ibent down, threw my arms
around the back of his legs and, with
all the strength Icould muster,hauled
him on top of me.Ifelt likeablue
whale had landed on my head. There
wasimmediate and intense pressure
on my knees,ankles and lowerback.
NowIhad to get this sack of brawnup
the hundred-metrehill. Ipushed one
leg out and then the next, with each
step the weight shifting,bringing pain
to adifferent part of my body.Hewas
so huge,and the ascent so steep,that
his head and legs kept banging along
the ground.
And it wasn’tonly once.The DS
ordered us up and down, up and down.
By the fourth climb Ifelt likemyeyes
were going to pop.The only energy
Ihad left wasmyanger.Istewed
murderously,thinking,‘F***ing hell,
42

SPECIAL FORCES
youfat c***. Whydid youf***ing choose me?’ Halfway
up the hill Iwas getting to the point whereIdidn’tcare
whether Ifailed or not. Ipushed on, my consciousness
narrowing so that all therewas left wasthe pain and
what Icould see directly in front of me –the mud, the
scree and the toes of my boot. ‘Aslong as youput one
foot in front of the other,you’ll get there,’Ithought.
On my fifth ascent Isaw the man next to me giveup,
dropping his human load in aheap in the cold,
hewed-up mud.
‘What areyou doing?’ Ishouted overtohim. ‘I can’t
do it,’hesaid. ‘Whereare yougoing?Justf***ing walk
up the hill.’‘I’m gone,’ he said. ‘I’m VW’ing [Voluntarily
Withdrawing].’And from the misery of that man’sdefeat
Isqueezed justenough motivation to get me through.
The final testofthe Hills is known as the ‘Long Drag’.
It’s aweighted run overthe Brecon Beacons that we
were required to navigate ourselves,using acompass
and map to get to various checkpoints in allotted times.
We had to cover40miles with 70 pounds on our backs,
carrying our weapon, and we had to do it in 20 hours.
Most people either went on the top of the hill or took
the route that laydowninthe valley.Idecided to
contour it, pacing one foot in front of the other along
the ridge lines of asteep hill for miles.Itput huge
pressureonmyankles,tracking for miles on the edge of
agoat track, constantly on the slope,never stopping for
morethan fiveminutes because Ididn’twant to get
demoralised in the freezing mud and needle-sharp rain.
When Iwas,Iguessed, about twohours away from
the finish Isaw acheckpoint at the bottom of ahill.
Ipressed on towardsit, girding myself
for the agonising final push beyond it.
Butwhen Igot there, the DS stopped
me again. ‘Right, Middleton,’hesaid.
‘You’reall done.’ ‘I’m done? Idon’t
understand, staff.’ ‘Takeyour bergen
off and get in the wagon.’‘In the wagon,
staff?’ Isaid.
Icautiously did as Iwas asked and
pulled myself up into the four-tonner.
Acouple of the lads were already in
the back. They looked surprised to
see me.
‘Ant, Ithought Ileft younear the
back?’ said one.‘Iwent adifferent way,’
Isaid. ‘I contoured it.’‘F***in’ nice one.’
‘Mate,isthis for real?’ Isaid. ‘This is
the end? They’renot playing with us?’
‘Ant,’helaughed. ‘What yougoing on
about? Youf***ing smashed it.’
This is an extract from:
FirstMan In by Ant
Middleton (HarperCollins)
£20.Ant’s new book, The
Fear Bubble,will be
published by HarperCollins on
5September 2019,£20.Towin a
signed copyofthe book,head to p66
“WEHAD TO COVER40MILES
WITH 70 POUNDS ON OUR BACKS,
CARRYING OUR WEAPON,AND WE
HAD TO DO IT IN 20 HOURS”
PHOTOS: ARTHUR EDWARDS/NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD; PETE DADDS/CHANNEL 4; WALES NEWS SERVICE
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43

WITNESS
FITNES
44

THE
S
Anyone can join the Army
as long as you can pass
its fitness test. But for the
real gym junkies, Army
Warrior Fitness is anew,
fun competitive sport
WORDS MATT LIZZIMORE PHOTOS ANDREW FERRARO
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 45

IN IT TO WIN IT
Sgt Kayleigh Lomax and
her team of women from
the Royal School of
Military Engineering on
their way tovictory
46

GYM JUNKIES
FAQ
STRENGTH
EVENT 1: The Strict
Press is atest of
strength in the
shoulders and triceps.
Teams have 10 minutes
to each press their
heaviest weight for 3
reps.The score for the
event is the combined
weight after all three
athletes have lifted.
WHAT
IS ARMY
WARRIOR
FITNESS?
It’s abit like
CrossFit. The
Army has devised
acompetition
format that allows
teams of athletes
to compete in a
series of events
designed around
the military’s
fitness principles.
Loud, thumping dance music reverberates
through an enormous hangar at an army
barracks in Surrey.Mixed with the music is
the murmur of morethan ahundred excited
voices,with the occasional booming yells of
encouragement echoing around the
cavernous structure. The chest-pounding beats are
punctuated by guttural roars and the crash of
weights hitting the ground. This is British Army
Warrior Fitness,and things areabout to get intense.
“It’ssimilar to CrossFit, but with our own
military spin,”explains Physical Training
Instructor Cpl Andrew Newman. “It’sabout
strength and conditioning and having abit of fun
with it to be honest.”
Here’s howitworks.Insimple terms,thereare
four competitiveworkouts at an event. Each
four-person team nominates their three strongest
people for each workout. Thereare three
categories: Men, Women and Masters (combined
team age of 140). Each team gains points based on
their performance,and at the end of the day, the
team with mostpoints wins.Easy.
“There’sahuge atmosphere,”saysSgt Kayleigh
Lomax. “You can feel the adrenaline in the air,and
youcan feel everyone sussing each other out. And
that makes me want to work even harder.You don’t
come heretofinish second.”She’sright. More than
100 soldiers have turned up to testtheir mettle in
today’sround of the nationwide competition. The
athletes range in shape and size from big,powerful
behemoths to lean, athletic types.All of them want
to win. The tension is palpable.
As the teams warm up,Andrew explains that the
firstworkout of the dayisthe strict press,inwhich
each nominated team member has 10 minutes to
press their maximum weight for three successful
reps.When the time is up,the three team members’
max weights arecombined to givetheir score. This
workout is all about maximal strength.
Andrew humbly steps aside for the firstevent.
“I’m not sitting on the strict press,” he says.“The
three lads I’m with push morethan me,soIbowed
out. Ican takethe hit that I’m alittle bit weaker in
the upper body,” he laughs.
As the teams watch the instructors demonstrate
the workout and the rules –form is vitally
important here–Andrew explains to us howhegot
hooked on the competition in the firstplace.“That
competitiveside of it, it’s abug,itgets inside you.
Youcan hear it now,”heexplains as he gestures
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ENDURANCE
towardsthe thundering voices and
cheers of support. “It’sthat drive
inside us.And as soldiers it pushes us.
It’s incredibly competitive, but in a
friendly manner.It’snot hostile or
anything likethat. I’vegot loads of
friends in there, and Iwant to see
them push, Iwant to see them do
well. We might not be on the same
team, and the overall goal is to win,
but there’sstill alarger team element
to it. There’sateam spirit.”
And that team spirit is an important part of being
asoldier explains Kayleigh: “You’renot aloner,you
work as part of ateam. And if youcan work as part
of ateam in asport youcan work as part of ateam
in atroop or in acorps.”
With the firstworkout done,the instructors get
prepped for the second task –the 3x250m row.
Each team member mustrow 250m, then tag in a
partner.The event finishes when each person has
completed three rows.This testisall about
anaerobic capacity –the ability to work very hard
for ashort period of time.
As the teams listen to the obligatory rundown of
the rules,Sgt Ben Gilmore–acolossus of aman –
explains to us that British ArmyWarrior Fitness
(BAWF) isn’tjustabout competition, it actually
signals amuch larger change in fitness attitudes
within the British Army. “Typically,wewerevery
focused on muscular endurance and cardiovascular
endurance –we’dgoout for runs with packs on and
things of that nature,”hesays. “However, we very
EVENT 2: Today's
Rowing event tests
each athlete’s muscular
endurance and aerobic
capacity. Each team
member sprints 5m to
the rower and completes
250m before returning
to tag the next athlete.
The event is complete
when each athlete has
completed 3x250m.
SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT
British ArmyWarrior
Fitness is designed to
encourage not only
fitness but astrong
sense of team spirit. “It’s
incredibly competitive,
but in afriendly
manner,” says Cpl
Andrew Newman
(right, main)
FAQ
WHAT DOES AWF FOCUS ON?
TheArmy needs its soldiers to be fit, and
to achieve this they look at key pillars:
muscular endurance,strength and power,
flexibility,aerobic/anaerobic capacity,
endurance,speed, agility and balance.
48

FAQ
GYM JUNKIES
POWER
EVENT 3: This event is a
combination of deadlifts
(50/40/30 @85/60kg or
60/40kg for women/
masters) and box
stepovers carrying 2x
24/16kg kettlebells.The
deadlift reps can be split
between the members
however they choose.
Each member must
complete the box steps
before the next round of
deadlifts can be started.
HOW
ARE THE
ATHLETES
TESTED?
AWFhas a‘menu’
of exercises.For
each competition,
organisers choose a
variety of exercises
from the menu to
ensureall aspects of
fitness arecovered.
Thelist is revealed
to teams only one
week beforethe
event so that no one
can target their
training too
specifically –
the idea is that
the athletes
build all-round
fitness.
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 49

much neglected strength, power, coordination,
speed and the other components of fitness.Sothis
has evolved through the military’s philosophyon
physical training and what makes agood, wellrounded
soldier.”
In fact, the exercises we’reseeing heretodayare
directly linked to the Army’sPhysical Training
System. Each exercise is picked from the catchily
titled ‘Exercise book’, which contains 28 Armyapprovedexercises.Essentially,these
exercises are
among those that soldiers would do on an ordinary
training day. And there’sagood reason for that. It
helps them to become better soldiers,and is agreat
waytoimprove injury prevention.
The soldiers arenow finishing up the third
workout of the day–acombination of deadlifts and
boxstepovers with kettlebells.But it’s the fourth
and final challenge that looks to be the most
gruelling.The groups mustcomplete a750m run
as ateam, 150 wall balls,125 kettlebell swings,100
burpees onto a10kgplate,and afinal 700m run as
ateam. Ouch. This is after an entireday’s training.
And did we mention that rain is hammering down?
Oh, and it has to be completed within 20 minutes.
As the teams hit the final run, it’s clear that
everyone is feeling it. Fatigue is written on the face
of every competitor,but the determination to win is
unwavering.The competitors bundle across the
finish line,and the teams embrace each other and
revelinthe moment. It all feels pretty epic.
The soldiers dry off,and the winners are
announced to thunderous applause.Wecatch up
with Andrew to see howhefelt the daywent. “It’s
been great justmoving some tin all day! And the
competition itself…” he pauses in thought. “What
job pays youtocome down to adifferent place all
day, chill out, drink coffee,throw some weight
around and then go home happy? Idon’tthink
there’sanother job that can do that, is there?”
50

GYM JUNKIES
HIGHER, HARDER, FASTER
AWF will push
contestants to their
limits, and beyond
NO WARRIORS REQUIRED
Why you don’t need to stress about the Army Fitness test
Youdon’t need to be afitness warrior to join the Army, but you
do need to be fit. With some training and preparation, the
fitness test is nothing to worry about.There’s even anapp,
100% Army Fit, that you can download to help you prepare.
SPEED &STRENGTH
EVENT 4: Each team has
20 minutes to complete
a750m run as ateam,
150 wall balls (9/6kg),
125 kettlebell swings
(24/16kg), 100 burpees
onto a10kg plate, and
a700m run as ateam.
The wall balls, kb
swings and burpees
can be split as each
team chooses but the
runs must be done as
ateam.
MID-THIGH PULL
The mid-thigh pull is very
similar to adeadlift and is an
excellent way tojudge your
strength and capacity, and has
multiple correlations with
military tasks. If you can lift a
weight of 46kg ormore from
the floor to waist height you’ll
be able to pass the mid-thigh
pull at the lowest level to join
the Army.Youmay need to lift
more, depending on the role
you are applying for.
SEATED MEDICINE
BALLTHROW
To measure your
upper-limb strength,
you must complete the
seated medicine ball
throw. Explosive
upper-limb strength is
important to achieve
high fitness levels, and
this contributes to
gaining maximal
upper-body strength.
You’ll need to throw a
medicine ball as far as
you can from aseated
position (at least 2.9m
–depending on the
role you’re applying
for), keeping your
hands on the side of
the ball as you throw it.
1.2mi/2km BEST EFFORT RUN
The 1.2mi/2km best effort run
determines your cardiovascular
fitness –this is vital to all military
tasks and the prevention of
injuries.Youneed to be fit
enough to run 1.2mi/2km in at
least 11m15s for Adult Entry and
11m30s for Junior Entry.Your
desired role in the Army will
determine the running time
you need to achieve.
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51

SKILLS
THE
ULTIMATE KNOW-HOW
FROM COOKINGSTEAKS
TO
POPPINGWHEELIES
52

SKILLS
PERFECTYOUR DUCK DIVE
Name: Clyde Bundy
Job: Medical
Support Officer
Unit: Joint Hospital
Group
Rank: Captain
Bio: Joined the
Army in2010 and has represented
the Army and Inter-Services team
surfing in California, Australia and
Portugal in between an operational
tour of Afghanistan and
deployments to Kenya, Canada and
Germany. He is currently the Army
Surfing Team Manager.
If you want to get out of the
white water to surf a‘green’
wave you need to get out the
back, and that means duck diving
under the waves. Here’s how
■ Timing is key –attempt the
duck dive too early and you’ll
pop up too soon and be sucked
back into the wave; too late and
the wave will push you back
towards the shore. When a
wave is approaching and is
about two metres away take a
deep breath then place your
hands on the rail of your
surfboard just in front of you
and push down to sink the
nose of your board.
■ Trytoshift your weight forward
over your hands and drive the
nose of the board under the
water with your body in a
‘press-up’ type position.
■ As you push the nose
underwater you want the
surfboard to be as flat as
possible, so the wave washes
over you.Youdothat using
either your knee or your back
foot on the tail of your
surfboard to push the tail into
the water.Your hands and your
foot/knee keep control of the
board underwater, soitdoesn’t
get ripped away.This is the bit
that seems to take most
practice and can be frustrating.
■ When you feel the wave pass
over you use your hands and
foot to angle the nose of the
board back tothe surface. If
you imagine scooping out the
last of your cereal in the
morning –this is similar to the
motion that you and your
board need to make,
downward, then level, then
back tothe surface.
■ As soon as you pop back up, if
you have controlled the board
well underwater then you
should be perfectly positioned
to start paddling again.The first
3-5 paddles after you pop up
will reduce the amount that
you get dragged back, so
paddle hard for afew seconds.
■ Youwill get this wrong, but
don’t worry. Keep practising
even on small and messy days
and eventually it will click, and
you’ll be paddling out back and
duck diving like apro.
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TRAVEL LIKE APRO
A Name: Ian Tosh
Job: Exercise Rehabilitation Instructor
Unit: RoyalArmyPhysical Training Corps (RAPTC)
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Biog: In 20 yearsinthe ArmyIhavevisited 45 countries.Ispent 12
yearsasanRoyal Logistic Corps chef beforejoining theRAPTC. I’ve
also been abletocompleteaBSc(Hons) in Strengthand Conditioning.
If you’re heading overseas on
holiday, there are so many things
to remember before you leave,
to help make sure you can
concentrate on having afantastic
time while you’re away. Given
the Army tend to travel afair bit,
soldiers are great people to ask
for advice. So we did.
DON’T GET RIPPED OFF
I’ve recently got aRevolut card
which gives you some of the best
exchange rates.Youuse it the
same way asyou would use a
bank debit card, and it’s easy to
top up via an app on your phone
when required. It also gives you
an instant notification on your
phone if it’s been used, to help
prevent fraud. It’s useful for
splitting bills for meals etc, if
your friends also have one.
SORT OUTYOUR ELECTRICS
I’ve found that making sure you
have abattery pack, something
with 10,000milliamps is great
as that means you have the
option of charging any ofyour
devices on the go. If you need
adifferent plug for where you’re
going, make sure you buy it
online in advance to avoid rip-off
airport prices.
RAISE YOUR HAGGLE GAME
When negotiating aprice, it’s
always handy to smile and shake
hands (if culturally acceptable)
with the seller before committing
to abargain. Do your homework,
and make sure you’ve shopped
around to avoid getting stung
for souvenirs.
LEARNTHE LINGO
Make some time to brush up
on the language essentials of
wherever you’re going. Speaking
into GoogleTranslate is by far the
best option, as it allows you to
54

SKILLS
hear the proper pronunciation
which ishandy.
PACK SMART
Ialways err onthe side of
caution when packing. Weigh the
bag at home and put the heaviest
small items in your carry-on bag
as these are rarely weighed.To
save space and weight, lay all
your kit out and match what you
plan to wear rather than just
packing piles of stuff you won’t
actually wear.
BUILDYOUROWN
RACING DRONE
Name: Liam Seckam
Regiment: 47 RoyalArtillery
Job: Equipment Manager
Rank: Gunner
Biog: Ientered theArmyin2015 aged 24 and joined theRoyal Artillery.I’ve
competed forthe ArmyDrone Racing team at theRAFMAA, wherewewon, and
also in Australia last year at theMilitary International Drone Racing Tournament.
Youcan get ready-to-fly
models that have already
been built for you, but the
problem is, if you break it you
don’t know how it’sbuilt so it
takes alot longer to fix it.
Muchbetter to build your
own racing drone and choose
all the components to suit
you.There are plenty of
YouTube videos and
Facebook pages offering tips
on how to build and the
components you should buy.
TOOLS
Youwill need aset of allen
keys, asoldering iron and
solder,wire cutters, aStanley
knife and plenty of zip ties
to tidy cables.
PARTS
Once you’ve decided what
sizedrone you want to race
you will need aframe and the
motorstodrive whatever size
props you have opted for: 3in,
5in and so on.
Youwill also need an
Electronic Speed Controller
(ESC) to regulate the amp
flow from the batteries to
matchthe prop and motors
you have chosen. Next is the
Flight Controller (FC) which
is likethe brains of the
quadcopter; it will have the
ports and tabs you need to
solder in the other essential
elements suchasthe receiver,
the camera and the Video
Transmitter (VTX).Youwill
also need to choose acamera,
goggles, antenna and
transmitter (whichisthe box
you hold with the sticks).
SOFTWARE
Once you have put it all
together,you need to hook
your drone up to your
computer to set up the
software.This is abit like
setting up aSky boxonyour
TV;it’snot hard, you’re just
making sure all the
components can
communicate with one
another.You can also select
various flight modes here. For
example, you can add Crash
Flip, whichbasically helps
your drone right itself after
acrash so that it can get
airborne again on its own.
RACING
If you are planning to race,
your best bet is to have at
least two drones. A
competition may have 10
qualifying rounds so you
can’t afford to miss one; if
you have aspare drone you
can carry on racing while you
repair the other one between
heats.Take plenty of motors
and props to eachrace.
SAFETY
If you are flying with goggles
you MUSThave aspotter
with you to watchthe drone
as you fly it and warn you of
anydangerssuchasdog
walkersinthe area.
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TEACH
YOURSELF
GUITAR
Name: RobJakeman
Job: ArmyMusician
Unit: Corps of ArmyMusic
Rank: Lance Corporal
Biog: After studying music at
university,Rob joined theArmy
to be an ArmyMusician. He
wasoriginallyaccepted as a
clarinetist, but has since movedto
guitar.Henow plays guitar full
time and gigs around theworld.
GET THE RIGHT GUITARFOR YOU
Istarted on aclassical guitar –they have
nylon strings, which are easier to press
and don’t hurt your fingers somuch.This
will help you get to grips with the basics.
BE PERSISTENT
It isn’t easy; you’re going to have to put
some graft in. Alot of people stop when
it gets difficult. Don’t give up, because
something will click. When you can play
three or four chords and you can sing one
of your favourite songs, it feels great.
TRY LESSONS
Often, schools will offer lessons inclasses
of three orfour people.That’s agood way
of finding out if you are going to enjoy
playing the guitar. Ifyou really enjoy it,
get yourself aproper teacher.
YOUTUBE
YouTube has some incredible guitar
teachers –some of them all the way
down to basic level. Once you get your
head around afew chords, you can learn
alot from just watching someone on
YouTube. It’s such agreat way oflearning.
PLAY WITH OTHERPEOPLE
Find afriend who wants to play as well.
If they’re better than you, they will bring
you on.Youmight feel like ‘Ican’t do this
or that’ or whatever, but it doesn’t matter.
Just go out and jam with other people,
because music is meant to be played with
other people, it’s the greatest feeling.
POPAWHEELIE
A ON AMOTORBIKE
A Name: Kalem Hicks
Job: Regimental Operations Senior Non-Commissioned Officer
Unit: 9Regiment, The RoyalLogistic Corps
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Biog: Ijoined theRLC MotorcycleEnduroteam in 2005 representing theCorps at
theBritish Enduroand British sprint Championship.I’vecaptained theArmyEnduro
team at theInternational Six DayEndurowhereI’vewon gold threetimes.
56

SKILLS
Pulling awheelie is agreat trick tolearn
as it looks pretty cool. However, itcan
actually be quite useful.There may be
times during an enduro race where you’re
required to lift the front end to safely pass
both man-made or natural obstacles.
■ The first thing to do is find asuitable
area of ground to learn. Aslight incline
makes it easier, and remember that
grass is alittle more forgiving in case
you take atumble.
■ Using the throttle and the clutch with a
slight pull of the handlebars the front
wheel will lift. With practice you will
perfect the timing of applying the
throttle, releasing the clutch and pulling
on the bars.
■ Get used to the feeling of the front
wheel coming off the ground before
you go higher and reach your bike’s
balance point.
■ To control the bike, lightly rest your foot
on the rear brake, applying more
pressure if required. So, ifatany point
you need to put the front back down,
dab the rear brake.Trytocontrol the
pace the wheel returns to the ground –
if you come down too hard you can
damage the wheel.
■ Always rest two fingers onthe clutch
to maintain control, particularly of
your speed.
COOK THEBEST
STEAK. EVER
Name: Darren Martin-Chambers
Job: Technical Training Officer
Unit: 167 Catering Support
Regiment
Rank: Warrant Officer Class 1
Biog: Isigned up aged 16 and
served full-time for25years,
deploying to Iraq,two toursof
Northern Ireland, Kosovo,Oman
and Cyprus withvarious units.
BEFORE
■ There are various cuts to choose from –rump,
sirloin and rib-eye are among the most
popular –eachfrom adifferent partofthe
animal. Checkthe age of the meat if you can.
The longer it has been hung generally the
better,uptoaround 21 days, as the enzymes
in the meat get more tender with age.
■ Take the meat out of the fridge at least one
hour before and get it to room temperature.
■ Dry the meat, rub with oil, and season. Don’t
use butter as it burns at high temperatures.
DURING
■ However you choose to cook your meat
–grill, fry or barbecue –makesure the
starting temperature is high as you want the
outer surface of the meat to caramelise.
■ Turn the meat every minute or so so that it
cooks evenly and doesn’t burn.
■ How long you cook for is amatter of taste,
but if you likeyour steak well done, leave on
the heat for longer than if you likeitrare.
■ Bear in mind that steaks can get tough when
they are over cooked because the protein in
the meat starts to coagulate.
■ To test if the meat is ready,pierce it with a
skewer or cocktail stick; if the juice runs clear
it is cooked; if it is red, it is rarer.
AFTER
■ Once it is ready,takeitoff the heat and set
aside to rest for afew minutes.This is
important as it helps the meat relax and
soften. People often worry it will get cold
but if you serve it on awarm plate it should
be fine.
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SWIM IN
THE OPEN
Name: Alice Easton
Job: Student on Intermediate
Command and Staff Course
(ICSC)
Regiment: RoyalEngineers
Rank: Major
Biog: Ijoined theArmyin2002
(aged 19) on aGap Year
Commission and subsequently
re-commissioned into theRoyal
Engineersafter university in 2007.
I’vesince been to Afghanistan,
Falkland Islands,Kenya,Oman,
Jordan
58
KIT
Youcan use the same goggles and hats
that you would normally use in apool,
but you just need the hat to be bright so
that you can be seen.The main thing is a
wetsuit.They are very different from, say,
asurf wetsuit, but they really help with
buoyancy as well as insulation from the
cold. It’s definitely worth trying alot of
different ones before you invest because
it is avery personal thing. When you are
starting out you can use atow float; the
idea is that if you need arest you can
hang on to your float and bob for abit.
BEFORE YOUGET IN
Most lakes are regulated so you either
have to swim with apartner, orlog in and
out. Other lakes have lifeguards in kayaks
watching over you in the water. Don’t
swim alone. Check your course/route and
make note of landmarks, the position of
the sun and so on. Swimming straight is
askill so you will need to keep looking up
while you breathe to check your course.
ENTERINGTHE WATER
With practice you will get used to the cold
temperature of the water. Nomatter
what, it always takes me awhile to get
my face in the water. Itcan be painful
swimming in cold water but you can get
gloves and socks if you’re really struggling.
TECHNIQUE
Youdon’t use your legs as much asyou
do in pool swimming. It’s much more
about gliding because you need to be
able to keep it going and hold that
straight line; if you have along stroke
then hopefully you’ll stay in the right
direction for longer rather than
zig-zagging everywhere. In the sea you
may have to lift your elbow up abit
higher in order to get over the waves if
the sea is choppy.You might also breathe
more frequently as sometimes you might
go to breathe and find you’re in the
middle of awave!
ENJOY
In the summer when it’s quiet and
gorgeous and it’s like amill pond in the
morning sunshine, it’s just wonderful.
Early morning on the water… you just
can’t beat it.

SKILLS
TAKE AN
AWESOME
FREE KICK
Name: Kevin Cameron
Job: Communications Systems
Operator
Regiment: RoyalSignals
Rank: Sergeant
Biog: Ijoined theArmyat18.
BeforethatI’d playedfor my home
town senior side when Iwas 16.
I’verepresented my Corps,the
Army, and also had acoupleof
games forCombined Services.
■ Itakeevery free kickasitcomes.There
are alot of things that come into it –the
sizeofthe wall, where the goalkeeper’s
standing, the wind, distance from the
goal, the angle to the goal.
SMASH100 MILES
ON ABIKE
Name: Adam Colvin
Job: Joint Tactical Air Control FieldTraining Unit (FTU)
Unit: Training Branch FieldArmy
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Biog: Icycle forthe ArmyRace team, from Criterium to National Aand Braces.Ijoined
in 2001 and went into the7ParachuteRegiment RoyalHorse Artillery.I’vebeen on afew
tourslikeKosovo and Afghanistan, and I’m noworganising exercises withthe FTU
PLAN
The best waytodo100miles
is to sign up to an organised
event. Allow agood couple of
months’training if it’syour
first time. Do one long ride
eachweek and build up to
maybe 80 miles. If you can do
a70-80 mile training ride, on
the day you’ll definitely
manage 100.
NUTRITION
If you plan to use sports gels,
whichare good products,
then practise using them in
training. One benefit of doing
an event is you can grab
more food at feed stations.
Have at least one caffeine gel
as aback-up, and some
normal food as well, like
apeanut butter and jam
sandwich, or flapjacks.
DRINKING
Again, practise using your
hydration tablets, anything
that gives you some extra
electrolyte to give you a
boost. Fill your water bottles
at every opportunity; you
don’t want to be suffering
later on simply because
you’ve not pickedupwater.
KIT
Always takeamini pump,
inner tube, tyre leversand
patches. Checkthe weather
forecast at the last minute to
assess the layersyou might
need to carry.
BIKE
Aclean bikeisaquickbike.
Makesure it’sserviceable at
least aweek in advance.You
don’t want to be changing
parts on your bikethe day
before and having no idea if
it’sgoing to work.
PACE
In your training, learn what
your average pace is. What
tends to happen when people
do these events is they get
caught up in it all and they go
offlikethe clappers.They end
up burning themselves out
and suffering because they’ve
gone out too fast. Startalittle
bit slower,work your wayinto
it and see how you feel.
ROUTE
Choose aroute to suit your
ability: flat or hilly.Ifyou’re
coming to aclimb, save
energy.Roll into it, drop onto
your low gear and slowly spin
your wayup.
■ Then Imakeadecision about where
I’m going to put it. Ideally,it’ll be in a
perfect spot to go for the top corner.
Because I’m right-footed that would be
on the leftside of the penalty area. If it’s
on the right hand side, and the wall’snot
set up that well then Imight curl it around
the wall. If it is set up right, Iliketogo
across the keeper.
■ Ihave no preference of how the ball is
set. Some playersliketohave the valve
facing them, but there’s no preference
for me.
■ Itakethree or four steps back, then try
to set myself.Takeafew breaths, and
try to be calm. Because of the
professional game, people expect you to
score more than they used to so there’s a
bit more pressure to pull something off.
Youneed that moment to takeabreath
and focus.
■ Iconcentrate on where Iwant the ball to
end up.Then Ikeep my eye on the ball,
and look to get aclean strike, with my
body over the ball. Leaning backtoo
muchisgoing to increase the chance of
sky-ing it.
■ Istrikethe ball with the instep/laces area
and hit it almost dead centre but with a
slight, upward motion.This is to give it
that little bit of top spin that’sneeded to
get it over the wall and backdown again.
■ Igostraight through the ball with afull
follow-through after I’ve struckit.
■ It’sall about practice –you’ve just got to
practise. Stay late after training, or go
early.Takeany opportunity you can.
PHOTOS: JOHNER RF/GETTY IMAGES; JON BUCKLE/LONDON MARATHON EVENTS
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 59

MEDICAL
HOWTOJOIN
INTELLIGENCE, IT &
COMMUNICATIONS
HR &FINANCE
ARMY JOBS
ARE SPLIT INTO
SEVEN MAIN
GROUPS
MUSIC &
CEREMONIAL
LOGISTICS &
SUPPORT
THEARMY
Got aquestion about how itall works? Here are the answers
ENGINEERING
COMBAT
*SALARIES ARE DUETO INCREASE IN AUGUST 2019 –CHECK APPLY.ARMY.MOD.UK FOR UPTO DATE INFORMATION
HOW MUCH DOYOU GET
PAID INTHE REGULAR ARMY?*
Soldiers: £18,488 upon qualifying as
aprivate.This can rise to £47,487 for
aWarrant Officer Class 1. Officers:
Over £25,000 during training.This
rises withpromotion; aBrigadier
receivesjust over£100,000.
AT WHATAGE CAN IJOIN?
Soldierscan join up at 16 and under
36 yearsold on thedateofentry;
officersshouldbeover18and under
30 yearsold on thedateofentry.
Parental consent is required for
anyone wishing to join under 18.
Thereare higher agelimits for
those joining as professionally
qualified or specialist entrants.
HOW LONG DO IHAVE
TO JOIN FOR?
When youbecome asoldier you
sign up foratleast four years
including thetime that you
spend training.
Officershaveanumber of
options that rangefromaone-year
commission to afull career of
35 years.
WHAT QUALIFICATIONS
DOYOUNEED?
To join as asoldier,you do not need
anyqualifications,except in some
specialist roles. To join as an
officer,the requirements can be
found at www.apply.army.mod.uk/
how-to-join. All potential recruits
(soldier and officer) arerequired to
pass amedical.
SHOULD IJOINTHE REGULAR
ARMY OR ARMY RESERVE?
The Reserveismade up of civilians
who fulfil aminimum requirement
of 19 training days per year.
ArmyReservists can gain valuable
qualifications such as driving
licences and NVQs as well as
developing other keyskills.
WHAT’STHE APPLICATION
PROCESS?
You’ll need to fill out aquick
application form on thewebsite
(https://www.army.mod.uk/careers/),
then amedical questionnaire. After
you’ve passed this you’ll be invited
along to your local ArmyCareers
Office who’ll help youevery step
of theway.
HOW LONG DOES
TRAININGTAKE?
It depends.For Regular Officers,
initial training lasts 44 weeks.For
soldiers, Basic Training is 14 weeks.
Then you’ll be givenfurther Trade
Training which can be between three
months to ayear depending on your
chosen job role.
WHAT ISTHE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN AN OFFICER
AND ASOLDIER?
Soldiersare peoplewho want to do
something different and aregreat
team players.Theyare skilled in a
wide rangeofroles bothonthe
battlefieldand as experttradesmen
and women. Soldiersgain additional
leadership and management
responsibilities as they gain
promotion and some go on to
become Officers.
ArmyOfficerseither join theArmy
directlyinto aleadership and
management role or become Officers
having served as Soldiersfirst. They
lead and carefor their soldiers,
making surethattheir teams of
soldiershavethe right skills and
motivation to perform at their very
best. Following their training they
can expect to have around 30 soldiers
under their command.
ARETATTOOS OR BODY
PIERCINGS ALLOWED?
Small tattoos that aren’t offensive in
anyway arenot normallyaproblem,
depending wheretheyare on your
bodyand howvisibletheyare.
CAN ISTILL JOIN IF IHAVE
ACRIMINAL CONVICTION?
Notnecessarily. Be honest about
your past history when youapply.
Certain categories of conviction are
forgotten –or‘spent’ –after a
rehabilitation period.
HOW FIT DO I
NEEDTO BE?
Youdon’t have to be
super fit to join theArmy.
However, youdoneed abasic level
of fitness to pass theselection stage.
Download thefree100% ArmyFit
Apptoget started.
GETTINGSTARTED
■ Visit theArmywebsite
https://apply.army.mod.
uk/ whereyou can find out
moreand have aLiveChat
withanadvisor.
■ Or pop into your local Army
Careersoffice to speak to one
of their Recruiters.
■ Youcan also call 0345
600 8080 or visit the
Army Facebook page
to ask aquestion.
■ Check you’re eligibleby
registering through the
websitewhereyou can also
submit an application:
https://apply.army.mod.
uk/register.
■ Once your application has
been receivedand your basic
eligibility assessed, you’ll
be sent alink to complete
an online form about your
general health.
INTRODUCTION
If youare medically fit, you’ll
be invited to your local Army
CareersCentre. Here, you’ll
geta20-minuteintroduction
to theArmy, and thevarious
career opportunities available.
Then you’ll have a one-to-one
with arecruiter who will talk
to youabout theroles that
couldbesuitablefor you, and
howyou can preparefor the
Assessment Centre.
CHOOSING ROLES
You’ll need to completea
cognitivetest which will help
matchyou to the roles best
suited to your skills and
abilities.Depending on your
GCSE results,orequivalents,
you mayneed to complete
Literacy &NumeracyTests.
Forsome specialist roles,
you’ll need to completea
Technical SelectionTest.
60

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
VALUES &
STANDARDS
Joining theBritish Armyisnot
likegoing to work forany
civilian company. Being apart
of theArmymeans
understanding its deeper
principles –and being
committed to live by them.
RESPECT
FOR OTHERS
SELFLESS
COMMITMENT
COURAGE
OUR
VALUES
LOYALTY
DISCIPLINE
INTEGRITY
BE LAWFUL
OUR
STANDARDS
BE THE BEST
BEHAVE
APPROPRIATELY
PREPARING YOURSELF
The 100% ArmyFit app and
exercise plans will help
improve your fitness. It
was developed with the
help of Army physical
training instructors and
givesyou simpleexercises
to increase your strength,
stamina and confidence.
ASSESSMENT
At an Assessment Centre
you’ll have an interview,
completephysical and
mental aptitude tests,
and have a
medical examination.
PRE-EMPLOYMENT
CHECK
Beforeyour employment offer
is confirmed, youalso need
to have apre-employment
check.This involves filling
out security forms and your
doctor will need to send
information about your
medical background.
WHENYOU START
Your starting datewill
depend on your grade
during assessment and
thenumber of places
availableinyour chosen
job role.
SCAN FOR MORE INFO
PHOTOS: MOD/CROWN COPYRIGHT
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 61

GETPAID
TO PLAY
We find out what it’s like tobe
afull-time musician in the Army
62

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
There are 23 bands
in the Army, from
the traditional
formal bands…
It’s nosecret that the British Army offers an
incredibly broad range ofjobs, but did you
know that you can actually get paid to play
music full time? In fact, the Army currently has
more than 20 bands, from traditional marching
bands all the way to pop and rock groups.
Lance Corporal Robert Jakeman is part of
amore modern rock/pop band. His interest was
piqued when he did some work experience with
an Army band in Catterick aged 15. Now he
gets paid to travel the globe playing music.
“We play rock, pop and alternative music,”
says Rob. “There are only three bands that do
that in the Army, out of 23. The rest are more
traditional military bands.” The sort ofband
that fellow musician Matthew Dixon plays in
–the band of the Scots Guards.
So what does the job of an Army musician
entail, day-to-day?
“I’m in aLondon band,” says Matt. “So we
do alot of events at Buckingham Palace,
Windsor Castle and stuff like that. We’ve just
recently been to Cyprus and Belgium playing
stuff, too.”
“It depends what’s going on,” adds Rob. “If
we’re onbarracks, we’re just in the rehearsal
rooms tightening up afew things, going over
new material, or trying to get something else
down. There are little bits of the band we have
to run too; we organise our own transport and
insurance and all that kind of stuff.
“We also get sent out to quite afew different
countries. Idid Afghanistan for two weeks,
Cyprus, Estonia, India, Oman. There’s alot of
travelling in the UK, and afair amount outside.
All my tours outside of the UKhave been great,
all musical, all performing for the troops that
there, so there’s alot of pressure not to mess
up. The Commonwealth Games was good, too
–playing in front of afull stadium.”
“Afghan was anexperience,” adds Rob.
“Being able togoover atChristmas time, when
alot of troops’ minds are focused on home and
they’re miles away. Wewere able togoand play
some familiar Christmas tunes, and we saw
people dance and party (despite being sober!);
they loved it. That was good.
“This year we played the Queen’s birthday
parade at the British High Commision in India,
and that was incredible, such acool gig,” he
adds. “Also, wedoafree public concert every
summer at Kneller Hall, Twickenham. That, for
me, is ahighlight every year, italways goes
down astorm. It’s like amini festival.”
The Army will usually hold auditions for
potential musicians to join their ranks and if
you pass, you’ll still do all your training like
every other soldier. “The audtion is normally
done before you get accepted and go to basic
training,” explains Rob. “You do 14 weeks basic
training like everyone else, then you doyour
trade training. Mine was music, so Iwent to
Kneller Hall. Iwas there for ayear while
Ibrushed up on my musical skills.”
Often, doing something you love for work
can take the shine off it, but Rob insists that’s
definitely not the case for him. “I love it, I
absolutely love it. If you get to stand there, sing
asong and play guitar, and you’ve got acrowd
that are whistling and clapping back to you, it’s
agreat feeling –you can’t take that away.”
For more information about becoming an Army
musician, search Camus or Army Jobs
PHOTOS: OLI SCARFF/GETTY IMAGES
“I LOVE IT... YOU’VE GOTACROWD THAT
ARE WHISTLING AND CLAPPING BACK TO
YOU, IT’S AGREAT FEELING”
are stationed out there, so you
can just give them alittle taste
of what it’s like tobeback
home. It’s good.”
It’s clear that both soldiers
have had the regular
opportunity to travel, and play
at some of the world’s most
prestigious events in front of
massive crowds, meaning
they’ve had plenty of stand-out
moments along the way.
“The Festival of
Remembrance last year was
very good, very poignant,” says
Matthew. “It’s quite surreal,
because there’s somuch
meaning behind it, an event
like that, plus there are so many
important and famous people
…to the more
casual rock and
pop performers
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 63

“THE ARMY
GAVE ME A
WORKETHIC”
From Raw Recruits to
the Royal Engineers, Oli
Foster tells us about his
early Army experiences
Acouple ofyears ago, 16-year-old
Oli Foster was going to college in
Essex but wasn’t really getting the
most out of it. With abrother
already inthe Army and afather
who was aformer Royal Engineer,
Oli decided to apply for the Army’s
Junior Entry programme at
Harrogate Foundation College,
and changed his life overnight.
If you think that Oli looks
familiar, that’s because he was one
of the students in the most recent
series of TV show Raw Recruits,
which shows what life islike for
the junior entrants at Harrogate.
We spoke toOli, now 18, to
find out what his experience at
Harrogate was like, and what he’s
been up to in the Army since.
OLI FOSTER FEATURED
IN SEASON TWO OF
RAW RECRUITS:
SQUADDIES AT 16
HOW DID YOUFEEL WHEN
YOUFIRSTARRIVED AT
HARROGATE?
Iwas nervous when Iarrived.
Iwouldn’t say Istruggled about
being away from home but it was
definitely abig step-up as Ididn’t
know anyone. Going from college
or leaving school, and going
straight from that to an
environment like that isabig
change, which is alittle bit scary.
SO HOW DIDYOUSETTLE
INTHEN?
Getting to know the rest of my
section really helped. It was good
getting to know them because
they’re the ones going through the
same things as you are so that
helps. Also, you’re not completely
cut off from the outside world –in
the first six weeks, you do get your
phone for alimited amount of time.
Some people deal with itdifferently
64

GOING ON EXERCISE
IS ALARGE PART OF
LIFE AT HARROGATE
FOUNDATION COLLEGE
“GETTING AWAY FROM HOME
AND GETTING ADECENT WAGE
WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS”
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
HOWCAN IAPPLY
FOR HARROGATE?
■Youmust be at least 15
yearsand 7months oldand
have permission from your
parent/guardian beforeyou
can applytojoin Army
Foundation CollegeHarrogate.
■ Youcannot startat
Harrogateuntil youhave
completed Year 11.
■ The qualifications needed
depend on thejob youchoose;
some have aminimum GCSE
requirement, othersdonot.
■ All students at AFC
Harrogatecontinue withtheir
education forthe duration of
their course.
■ The lengthofthe course you
completewill depend on the
role youselect. Youwill need
to sign on thelong course (49
weeks) to join theInfantry,
RoyalArtillery,Royal
Armoured Corps and Royal
Logistic Corps.The short
course (23 weeks) prepares
Junior Soldiersfor technical
and trade roles.
■ Seewww.army.mod.uk for
moredetails
but Ifound that getting to know the
rest of my section was helpful.
WHAT DIDYOUFIND HARDEST
ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AT
HARROGATE?
Some things are more difficult than
others. Doing admin stuff and
spending most evenings on my
locker was quite tough because
Iwasn’t used to it. Iwent from
coming in from school and just
chucking my stuff on the floor, to
having to make sure that everything
is pristine. Just trying to keep on
top of the admin side of things was
alittle bit of achallenge.
LIVING WITH YOUR SECTION
MATES 24/7 TAKES SOME
GETTING USED TO
LOOKING BACK NOW,
WHATWERE THE HIGHLIGHTS
OF YOURTIME AT AFC
HARROGATE?
Getting away from home, the start
of my career and getting adecent
wage were the biggest things. My
Nan lives upnorth so Ilike itup
there. Being up there and being
able togoout at weekends –after
the first six weeks –and do what
you want to do was great. Also,
being able topay for things,
whether that’s with family members
or friends who might have squared
you away inthe past –now, Ican
always go and help them out.
SO WHAT DIDYOUDO
STRAIGHT AFTER
HARROGATE?
Alot of people gostraight to their
Phase 2training, which is their
trade or job, but when Ipassed out
from Harrogate, Idid Phase 2A
because Iwas going through the
Royal Engineers.
Phase 2A is the B3combat
engineering 10-week course at
Gibraltar Barracks in Surrey where
Ilearned things like basic bridge
building, basic demolitions and
water supply.
At the end of that course you do
aweek exercise, and you doafinal
run, in which you either pass or fail
the course.
That course is there toearn your
way into the corps, and obviously
to teach you the basics of
engineering as well. With some
corps they’ll spend awhile in
Phase 2[usually between 20-40
weeks] but with Engineers you
do the 10-week course and then
get your stable belt and flashes.
At that point you’re classed as a
Royal Engineer.
After that, Iwent to learn my
trade as afabricator and welder at
Chatham, where Iamnow, which is
where most trades will come.
HOW DIFFERENT HAVETHESE
EXPERIENCES BEEN
COMPAREDTO HARROGATE?
I’m not with anyone from my
platoon but I’ve been with lads
that are from other platoons that
were at Harrogate with me.
Obviously, it differs interms of
the way you’re treated here at
Chatham as you’re further along in
your training.
Ididn’t struggle with much at
Harrogate but when Igot to Gib
(Gibraltar Barracks for Phase 2A) it
was abit more ofastruggle. It was
just amassive jump from the kind
of things we were doing –atGib,
there’s alot of heavy lifting. It’s abit
more strenuous but only for ashort
amount of time so it’s not too bad.
WHATWOULDYOUR ADVICE
BE FOR READERS THINKING
ABOUTTHE JUNIOR ENTRY
SCHEME?
With Junior Entry, even ifyou were
to do four or five years ofservice,
you’re still going to be in your early
20s with your whole career ahead
of you. Once you dothat, you can
say toanemployer ‘I’ve got this
experience’. And it shows abit of
commitment, and it’s definitely
given memore ofawork ethic.
PHOTOS: BURNING BRIGHT PRODUCTIONS; RICHARD WATT/CAPITA
WWW.THELOCKER.ONLINE 65

GETMORE!
the
LOCKER
Good news! TheArmy isall over social! FollowArmy Jobs and the
British Army onFacebook and Instagram for more great stories
by
Editor-in-chief Gershon Portnoi
Managing editor Kevin McCreeth
Arteditor SandraMarques
Staffwriters Zoe Birdsall, Matt Lizzimore
Pictureeditor Dominique Campbell
Contributors Dominic Bliss,Zack Donnelly,
Daniel Neilson, TylerYates
Account director Alison Nesbitt
Senior account manager Steph Allister
Print production Lee Brister
Head of production Trevor Simpson
Head of creative Martin Tullett
Director Issie Peate
Capita Siobhan Penrose, Fiona Quigley
The Army Lieutenant Colonel Kevin
Bingham, Major Heidi Logie, Major
Georgina Symonds
LIKE US
Facebook.com/armyjobs/
FOLLOW US
Instagram.com/britisharmy/
WATCHUS
youtube.com/armyjobs
With thanks to all thesoldierswho gave
up their time forfreetotakepartinthe
magazine. Anybrands mentioned in
thetext arefor editorial purposes and
arenot connected to The British Army
in anyway.
The Locker is published on behalf of the
ArmyRecruiting Group by Wonderly, part
of Haymarket Media Group,BridgeHouse,
69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP.
©Crown copyright 2019. All rights
reserved.
This publication may not bereproduced
or transmitted in any form in whole orin
part without the written permission of
the publishers. Every care has been taken
in the preparation of this magazine, but
neither Wonderly nor the Army can be
held responsible for the accuracy of the
information herein, or any consequence
arising from it. Views expressed by
contributors may not reflect the views
of Wonderly or the Army.
Publication date: July 2019
Prepress by: Rhapsody
Printed by: Walstead Southernprint
Walstead Southernprint
Upton Industrial Estate,
17-21 Factory Rd,
Poole BH16 5SN
Catch upwith Her
Majesty’s Cavalry,
at itv.com
FIND US ONTV
Ever wondered whatit’sliketobe
partofthe HouseholdCavalry? A
recent six-partseries on ITV gave
an in-depthlook at one of the
most recognisableregiments of
theBritish Army. Viewersgot to
see whatlifeisreallylikefor the
soldiers, from riding horses at the
RoyalWedding to driving tanks
in theMiddleEast. It’snot too
late to see theshowonITV’s
catch-up service –and to find
out moreabout this unique role
visit ArmyJobs and search
HouseholdCavalry.
PEFC Certified
This product is
from sustainably
managed forests and
controlled sources
www.pefc.co.uk
FORTERMS AND CONDITIONS GOTO THELOCKER.ONLINE
WINASIGNED
COPY OF ANT
MIDDLETON’S
NEWBOOK
Completeour online reader survey to be in with achance of winning
Fancy bagging asigned
copyofAnt Middleton’s
brilliant newbook, The
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in theright place.
All youhavetodotobe
in withachance is head
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and completeour reader
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So if youwant to find
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he learned to harness his
fear as apositive force,
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PHOTOS: RWYLLIE
66

GREAT ADVENTURES START HERE
ARMY FOUNDATION COLLEGE,HARROGATE
GREATMATES •TOP TRAINING •UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURES
Push yourself to thelimits.Prove yourself as aleader. Preparefor aroleinthe
BritishArmy, andall theincredible adventures,unforgettable storiesand proud
achievements that come with it.The Army Foundation College(AFC),Harrogate is
no ordinaryclassroom –it’sanopportunity to earn money, whilst gainingacademic
qualifications, learningskillsand building bondsthatlastalifetime. It’s your ticket
to success.
Everygreat adventurestartssomewhere:begin yoursatAFC Harrogate. If you’re
searchingfor your next step afterGCSEs,visit your localArmyCareers Centre or
search ‘ArmyAFC’.
FIND WHERE YOU BELONG
SEARCH ARMY AFC

YOUR ARMY NEEDS YOU
BECOME AN INFANTRY SOLDIER
Infantry soldiers arethe front-line team protecting theUK–fightingthe enemy,
preventing conflictand supporting humanitarian operations worldwide. They’rea
huge team with an unbreakable bond –committed to making adifference.
When youjointhe Infantry,you’llreceive world-class trainingtobecomeacombat
soldier, usingthe latest equipmentand techniques.You’llearnacompetitive salary,
whichwill increase as yourisethrough theranks.You’llalsoreceiveexcellent benefits,
includinganunrivalled pensionscheme, cantakepartinAdventurous Trainingand
sports,all whilst travelling theworld.Ifyou’reinterestedinbeing part of thebestfighting
forceinthe world, visitour websitetofind outmoreand to apply.
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