Throughout my military career, I was afforded opportunities to develop my skillset, lead teams and go beyond my comfort zone, as I sought new challenges. This was set from the very start when I joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1988, aged 19; I was already thinking about my career beyond the military, since I recognised the value in getting a trade while serving.
A range of unforeseen challenges required me to demonstrate resilience and apply my experience from different roles, to lead and support colleagues in various scenarios spanning military theatres and major logistical planning exercises. Having recently left the military, I’m now adapting to civilian life without the huge protection net provided by the Armed Forces.
I spent my first 20 years in the Army and chose the Artificer route. An Artificer is skilled at working on electronic, electrical, electro-mechanical and/or mechanical devices. I received a recommendation to be an Artificer very early on in my career, after demonstrating sufficient leadership and management skills as a Lance Corporal Vehicle Mechanic. Having passed a four-day assessment phase, I then completed an 18-month HNC in engineering, which subsequently saw me leading a team of 15-20 people supporting a squadron of tanks or vehicles. Furthermore, whatever rank you are when you go on the Artificer course, you are promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant, which is a rapid acceleration in responsibility.
In 1990, I was deployed to the Gulf War, supporting a transport squadron and delivering ammunition to the frontline, I was often called upon to make battleworthy repairs that supported the main effort. I then had tours in: Afghanistan leading a team that was deployed as one of the initial forces to enable further NATO deployment of forces, supporting the engineering equipment being repaired at Kabul and Bagram operating bases; Ballykinler in Northern Ireland; a Territorial Army Regiment as a Senior Permanent Staff Instructor; and Cyprus, spending three years as the Warrant Officer Class 1 in the Engineering and Logistics element of Headquarters British Forces Cyprus supporting many different requirements including the UK Ministry of Defence’s evacuation of civilians from Lebanon in 2006.
Towards the end of my tour in Cyprus, I began to look at moving to the Royal Air Force (RAF), since I recognised that it was unlikely I would get a high profile role as an engineering commissioned officer in the Army. Although I had no aeronautical training, I had plenty of engineering experience. Despite many REME personnel opting for a role in electronic or communication employment areas, I was very much focused on moving to an aircraft systems role. I was looking at the next 15 years of my career, and it had to excite me and provide the opportunities to demonstrate why I would be a good engineering officer.
When I made the decision to move, it was quite daunting. The challenge was in adapting to a new role integrating into a different service, and accepting that gaining promotion as a Commission Officer in the RAF would be extremely competitive. I was moving across to a service which had not developed the majority of my skills and it was a step up into commissioned life within a branch that was completely new to me.
After completing my RAF training, I moved to RAF Cosford, where I managed the team delivering the junior engineering management courses to Senior Aircraftmen, as well as providing mentoring to the Basic Engineering Scheme which supported Non-Commissioned personnel progressing through an engineering foundation degree in preparation for commissioning. I was later posted as the Junior Engineering Officer (JEngO) on 8 Squadron, which was the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), where I led a team repairing aircraft in a variety of locations such Sicily, Oman and Alaska. As a JEngO on an RAF squadron, you’re leading more than 80 skilled engineers, working out the priorities, making sure aircraft repairs are achieved and managing airworthiness supporting regular NATO and Operation tasks. There is a huge amount of responsibility on you and the trust in your team is vital.
In 2013, I moved into the AirISTAR (Sentry) project team as the Electrical and Avionic Desk Officer. It was in this post where I received the first RAF commendation for solving a long-time airworthiness issue.
The 2*at Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) awarded it for improving aircraft availability. We routinely took 4-5 days trying to resolve various faults that occurred after the stall warning system had been disturbed. I led a team that was able to identify the system fault, put measures in to prevent reoccurrence, and with Aircrew assistance, offer alternative ways of conducting the resulting flight test. This saved 4-5 days of aircraft availability, reduced the load on the engineering support, improved aircraft availability and reduced costs associated with multiple flight tests.
My final RAF post was at the Joint Electronic Warfare Operational Support Centre (JEWOSC) within RAF Waddington. As Officer Commanding (OC) for Reprogramming, my teams and I were responsible for supporting air and sea platforms with EW advice and mission data. I was later promoted just prior to the COVID 19 outbreak, taking on the OC Mission Data role, giving me overall responsibility for the support and testing elements of Mission Data production, across the Operational and Trials enterprise.
Covid hugely impacted people, but there was still a requirement to support operational platforms. We had several high-profile trials at the time, which required personnel to come into work – working safely, around the clock and socially distanced. As we approached the end of Covid, we increased team sizes, going into split shifts around the clock, allowing everyone to be in, but safely distanced.
Aside from the logistical challenges, there was a huge amount of duty of care to my 120-strong team. Covid not only affected people physically, but also mentally, placing a significant demand on many of them. We needed to ensure that people who were really apprehensive had the support of their teams sensibly and safely. It wasn’t a standard working day; I was constantly on the phone to people ensuring they felt assured in returning to work and that they felt supported in their private life. If there were people in fear of completing what seem to be basic tasks such as going out to the shops, we had to have the right strategies to support and assist them.
Sometimes it is assumed that people in uniform are mentally strong, but nowadays we deal with mental health in the service as much as we do in Civilian Street. I’m a Mental Health First Aider and at times I felt myself really under pressure and the need to go and speak to somebody. That’s no different for any of the services and I had all three services within my team. You very quickly realise that everybody’s human; everybody has strengths and weaknesses. Part of leadership is being able to steer the ship in the right direction, but much of it is how you support your team. Leadership is only second to followership. If your team is willing to follow you, then then you’ve solved half the problem. You also need to recognise when people are feeling down, and whether civilian or military, they face the same health, relationship and financial challenges in life.
A colleague of mine had a child with cancer, whose treatment lasted for three years. I can’t think for one minute how that person was dealing with everyday life. Him just coming to work was incredible. I don’t think he wanted me to sit with him and ask how he did it; he just needed to know that someone was there to support him if and when he needed them. People will always try to assist where possible, which made my job a little bit easier.
One of the biggest things ingrained on us by the military is to look out for people, built upon traits like teamwork, morale, and enthusiasm. Whether you’re a civilian or military nowadays, there’s no difference between how people can manage and deal with things. Covid was something that nobody had faced previously. It was new, and with anything unknown, there’s always fear and uncertainty about how you’re going to deal with that situation.
As a result of my work during Covid, I recieved a 3* commendation from the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Adrian Bird CB, who said:
“Squadron Leader Wilson has driven the transformation of Mission Data (MD) production whilst successfully mitigating the impact the pandemic had on his workforce. These were especially challenging given his team’s need to access classified systems in the workplace. In parallel, the MD team had to navigate their way through the most fundamental update to the EW database and supporting software in 20 years. This has necessitated significant overhauls in training, procedures and policy; all of these were executed seamlessly under his astute leadership and management. Concurrently, he has commanded his people compassionately; supporting them through over a dozen major welfare cases where his workforce and dependents faced family deaths, an infant with a terminal diagnosis and serious illnesses. His leadership of the team has been exceptional, and it is clear he has the complete trust and loyalty of his personnel, displaying outstanding emotional intelligence, listening skills, approachability and exceptional adaptability to deal with these complex welfare-centric circumstances. Despite these issues, MD Department outputs to its 40 end-users were delivered on time and without interruption, including critical support to MD-dependent platforms involved in CSG and Operation SCORPIUS. Wilson has my strongest recommendation for official recognition.”
The second commendation marked a significant milestone in my life, as I left the RAF. I felt it was the right time to test myself doing something different and seeing what value I could add. Now I’m a workstream lead across several projects which are looking to support the JEWOSC and utilise future EW strategies.
Making the transition is not straightforward though. As I left for work on my first day, my wife said “it looks like it’s your first day of school.” Effectively, it was, after 34 and a half years in the military. You’re almost institutionalised. The unknown was quite worrying, but working again with many people I knew, and going to familiar places such as DE&S in Bristol and the JEWOSC, has made it a lot easier (especially with being firewalled from my parent company, Leonardo, in this new role). It’s certainly a new challenge for me, but I’m enjoying it immensely.
For anyone thinking of leaving the service, I would urge them to start their resettlement as early as possible. This will allow you to understand the road ahead and the options available, and formulate a plan along with your family (if you have one) for a smooth transition. Early attendance on the Career Transition Workshop is a key part of the journey and every service person should take the opportunity to attend at the earliest opportunity. It is never too early to prepare fully. It was 12 months between making the decision to leave the military and actually finishing, but there’s so much to do during that time to get it right. Fortunately, I had a strong senior leadership team in JEWOSC who were very supportive in preparing me for my departure from service.
Equally, Leonardo has helped make the transition into industry comfortable, providing great support across a breadth of new processes. Although quite small tasks for someone who’s worked there a while, as a new joiner adapting to new projects and working conditions, having someone looking out for me has been great and really useful.
This has been supplemented by the support offered by Leonardo’s Armed Forces Network Group. Being able to tap into a dedicated and like-minded group of people who have been through a similar transition journey to me, and seek their advice and guidance, has also smoothed my integration into the company. I look forward to getting more involved with the group in the future, using my own experience and knowledge to help others who make the move from the military to industry.
