Celebrating Armed Forces Week UK

Alan Bond

Senior Manager, Naval Architecture

Link to Armed Forces: RN Engineer Officer (1982-2003) 

Length of service: 21 years 

“I joined the Royal Navy when I was just 16 years old via my local recruiting team (a shopfront on a Plymouth high street).  

I was offered a full-time apprenticeship with lots of outdoors and physical activity. For a young lad who wasn’t particularly interested in further education at the time, the prospect of (free) international travel was tempting, and getting paid while learning appealed greatly. As it turns out, my academic interest developed during my time in the RN, and I went on to gain a degree and be selected for Officer training. 

I’ve had so many opportunities and experiences with the Royal Navy: From crossing the ocean to transit the Panama Canal on a Frigate, to having my own bridge watch as a junior officer, to being given a two-aircraft detachment to take to an RFA ship. As part of the RN’s adventurous training commitment, I even became a Joint Services ski instructor, learned to surf as part of the RN Surf Team, completed my Ocean Yachtmaster in the Caribbean and gained my BSAC diving qualification in the Red Sea!  

After leaving the RN, what really struck me was the huge breadth of experience I didn’t know I had - I had done so many things, been involved in so many different things, met so many different people and had so many more experiences than most of the people around me. It really helps you to consider the world from another’s perspective rather than just your own. It is great to work for a company like BMT where I can put all that experience to good use.  

Being part of the Armed Forces takes you out of your comfort zone and teaches you so many new skills, all of which come in handy later in life. It was an amazing career opportunity. It’s an adventure, and it doesn’t have to be for 20 years. It takes the blinkers off, especially for a small-town Cornish boy who couldn’t imagine life beyond the River Tamar!” 

Andrew Sinclair

Principal Combat Systems Engineer

Link to Armed Forces:  Royal Navy veteran 

Length of service: 23 years 

“I was inspired to join up by a family thread full of Naval enrolment. Both parents have served, with my father a Falklands veteran, and my mother’s family widely linked to both World Wars. The word ‘service’ has an explicit meaning for me in that it speaks of the character our service people demonstrate in choosing to act selflessly and faithfully in the defence of others. Our Armed Forces are amazing - their courage and commitment to serve underwrite the peace and prosperity of the United Kingdom which I think is admirable.  

One of my fonder memories is not one of combative or technical demonstration. It involves our late monarch and a particular moment HMS MONTROSE was activated to sail at very short notice. Under a silent and calm summer’s dawn we crept into the still seas of The Solent to conduct a silent steam past of the Isle of White on the occasion of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday. The skies could not have been clearer, and the ship was becalmed by the sea and wind. The Ship’s Company quietly lined the upper deck and waved a collective and muted ‘three cheers’, marked with the circling of one’s headgear in a uniform direction. We mustn’t have been more than 1000 yards from the shore when the Queen stepped out from her orangery to acknowledge us with a protracted royal wave and Prince Philip with a raised tea-cup. All you could hear was that synonymous whistle from the Ship’s exhaust, you could hear a pin drop.  

For anyone considering a future in the Armed Forces, I would urge them not to dwell on it. Do it. Go for it. Challenge yourself, and see the world through a different lens. Every day I reap the rewards of my time in Royal Navy. The best lesson I took away from the military was to “Think to the end”. Evaluate all your options and pursue the best one, armed with the contingency to adapt should things change (they always do). Also… check the bottom of your iron before pressing your white shirt!” 

Anna Armstrong

EA to Global Business Director

Link to Armed Forces: Wife of Armed Forces Veteran (Army). I was also a Civilian Clerk for a regiment in the Royal Logistic Corps, based in Germany 

Husband's length of service: 22 years

“My husband, Nick, joined the Royal Green Jackets in 1998. Nick’s father was also in the Armed Forces (Fusiliers), so it was a part of his life from childhood.  

We were a couple before he joined up, so I also completed the full 22 years with Nick. For me, the best part was always the end of a six-month tour, and the long post op tour leave - reuniting our children with their daddy, and being able to get back into a normal family routine for a little while. 

I certainly think it has shaped me and my career. My understanding of the Armed Forces and having colleagues from similar backgrounds and experiences has certainly helped in my role at BMT, but overall, it has made me more resilient and adaptable to change, as this was a constant throughout Nick’s career. Also, having to live and work within the Armed Forces community has made me more of a team player but, conversely, also independent when needed due to the deployments and exercises.  

To anyone about to embark on or at the start of life as a military spouse, I would say be prepared for separation and constant change. Our Armed Forces and their support networks are dedicated to their duty and show huge resilience with every challenge they are faced with, not only within their serving roles but also with sacrificing precious time with their families for long periods of time. Embrace the opportunities for travel and living in different countries - you make strong friendships with people who are in the same situation, and I always look back fondly on the memories made.” 

Chantal Hopper

Senior Navigation and Seamanship Engineer

Link to Armed Forces: Served in the Royal Navy 

Length of service: 17.5 years  

“The Navy has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) navy section at school and my Grandpa was in the Navy. I joined the University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) at Southampton University, absolutely loved it so joined the RN on completion of my degree as a Warfare Officer. 

I have had some amazing experiences and some very fond memories of being in the Royal Navy (RN). Being the Commanding Officer of HMS EXAMPLE (a P2000 Archer Class patrol vessel) and Northumbrian Universities Royal Naval Unit for two years was a career highlight as well as deployments to the Falkland Islands (lots of penguins!), the Gulf (protecting oil platforms and anti-piracy) and delivering ‘Royal Mail’ to the Queen via sea boat whilst she was holidaying around the Scottish Isles! 

Whilst as the Commanding Officer of HMS EXAMPLE, I deployed with three other P2000s to the Baltic for the summer taking university students with us. Visiting so many different places, the welcome in the various countries, seeing the students’ development (personal, professional, confidence) and proudly demonstrating the RN in the public eye.  

I left the Royal Navy in March 2020 and joined BMT in September 2020. When I saw the job advert, I thought it had been written especially for me! It great to work in an environment where my military experience really comes to the fore: I am extremely disciplined, love meeting people (colleagues and customers) and building that interpersonal relationship. It has also given me the confidence in my abilities to respond to the customers’ needs. 

For anyone considering a career in the Armed Forces or as a Reserve, I would say definitely give it a go – the people, the camaraderie, the sense of teamwork in the tough times and the fun times… the experiences and opportunities are invaluable!” 

Craig Lambert

Reliability Centred Maintenance Consultant

Link to Armed Forces: Ex Serviceman – Royal Air Force 

Length of service: 11 Years 

“I was at school studying A-Levels and didn’t realise how bored I was of education. One day I was walking on a mountain in the Lake District and a Tornado aircraft flew past below us and I thought, “I fancy a bit of that world” so went to the Careers Office that weekend and signed up. One of the best decisions I ever made. My military career never actually involved working on aircraft but wearing a green uniform providing mobile tactical communications to support operations and exercises all over the world. 

On a personal level, I had some of the most amazing experiences I could have dreamt of. Some good and some bad, but I don’t regret any of them because they all taught me so much about life in general. Apart from countless social ones, some of my fondest memories are from being on exercise supporting the SAS with a Special Forces Hercules Squadron landing on beaches at night. 

Upon leaving the Service, I definitely wanted to work in the Defence industry. I have an appreciation of how the work I do at BMT relates to the people doing the job - I know why I do what I do and why it’s important to get it right. 

On a broader level, I do believe that our Armed Forces are amongst the best in the world. Being a part of that can give you opportunities that no civilian job will ever offer or that money could ever buy, and it creates friendships that are second to none. I left 24 years ago and still meet up with the same group of ‘lads’ on a regular basis, some of them are still serving on the same unit. It’s life-changing in a truly positive way.” 

Jack Beard

Senior Trials and Validation Consultant

Link to Armed Forces: Ex-Royal Navy Submarine Service  

Length of service: 18 Years 

“I was looking for a career that would allow me to do something different from the norm, allow me to travel and see parts of the world that I never would. I wanted to see somewhere that wasn’t just the little part of South East England that I’m originally from and expand my horizons. I certainly got what I wanted: I had the pleasure of spending my Christmas and New year in the Seychelles after a last-minute stop onboard HMS TRENCHANT - I spent time scuba diving and Christmas day was spent drinking beer on the beach! 

I had worked alongside BMT during my military career and knew it is a dynamic hard-working company. The company also covers a broad spectrum, enabling me to work in other fields outside of my core MOD related engineering work. In a similar fashion to my time in the Royal Navy, my work within BMT means I liaise and work with lots of different people from different backgrounds and professions and I found the transition to civilian life easier than I thought.  

For anyone thinking about a career in the Armed Forces, I would say always prepare for the unexpected. In 2014, I was on a promotion course studying maths in a classroom and one day our intake was called to go and dam up a river near Winchester to prevent a village from flooding! The amount of different people you work with from different backgrounds, parts of the UK and commonwealth who can work together to achieve an aim without conflict is truly amazing.” 

Kate Walker

Consultant (Training Consultancy Services)

Link to Armed Forces/Reserves: Husband is a Commander in the Royal Navy

“I come from a military family and spent most of my childhood moving between bases or visiting dad at weekends. Of the four siblings, both brothers were in the armed forces, and both sisters married into the navy – we continue the trend. I actually met my now-husband at my sister’s wedding, as he was a guest on her partner’s side. They had gone through Portsmouth University together. They were all dressed in uniform so there was no hiding it, but it didn’t put me off! 

The best part about being part of the Armed Forces family is the community. I don’t think you can ever quite appreciate it until you are part of it. Especially during the difficult times. I did four years in a Married Quarter (Military housing near the base) with husband away for the majority of that time, and for a submariner, that means absolutely no comms either. Being surrounded by people in the same boat as you (pun intended) makes all the difference.  

My fondest memory by far is homecoming. I’ve been incredibly lucky, and have had many incredible experiences, including getting to watch my husband receive his OBE this year for his work on submarines, but still nothing beats homecoming. With submarines, you don’t get a return date, just a letter saying, ‘don’t expect them before x’. And then you get more of those as the deployments get extended... Then finally you get 48-hour notice of their arrival and it’s a mad rush to get everything ready. With all this, I always made the decision to never tell my son until the day. I have a video of waking him up on the morning of our very last homecoming and saying that we were going on an adventure to see Daddy’s submarine come home and I’ve never seen or felt excitement like it.  

My experience with the Royal Navy and all aspects of military life helps in so many ways in my own work. From simple things such as understanding the hierarchy (and epilates) when on client side and a basic understanding of vessels, to in-depth knowledge of Joint Service Publications and even an awareness of the Armed Forces culture and ways of working. This isn’t the case for every partner but some of us just get more involved than others! Part of my life as a military spouse was also working in Faslane as an Education and Resettlement Officer, so I was very much part of the submarine world for four years, and now I am working on defence training, so safe to say that my experience continues to translate into my every day at BMT.  

If you’re considering a career in the Armed Forces, talk to people who have either been there or are still there – get as much real-world feedback as you can. It’s not just a job, but a way of life (as cliché as that sounds) and so you need to be all in to make it work. And that goes for family members too. If it’s new to your partner, then get them to chat with others, as if they aren’t onboard (not sorry for that one either) then it’s going to be even more of a rollercoaster.” 

Tol Khamcha

Senior Project Professional

Link to Armed Forces/Reserves: Queen’s Gurkha Signals & Royal Signals 

Length of service: 36 Years 

“Whilst I was a civil engineering student at a university in Nepal, I went to the British Gurkha recruiting centre in Nepal to undergo a month-long Gurkha soldier selection process and was selected as a potential communication engineer. Following an initial gruelling 12 months of training, I joined the Queen’s Gurkha Signals as a system engineer.   

I have had some life-changing experiences being part of the Army, including representing the Army in the Everest Marathon and deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s tough but very rewarding: work hard, play hard and enjoy hard!  

Having served in all major MOD headquarters such as Army HQ (Andover), Joint Task HQ (Northwood), Whitehall (London) and Defence Digital (Corsham), working with the Crown servants and contractors to deliver projects and programmes, it has certainly set me up for life on the outside. BMT felt like a natural place to go that has the same family feel as the Army.  

To anyone considering a career, I would like them to know that the Army treats everyone as a family. As well as have a special provision to sports and adventure training facilities, they offer a wide variety of benefits including financial, education and training, health care etc. and have a bespoke welfare provision for member of armed forces and their dependants.” 

Nicola ‘CT’ Crabbe

Head of Land & Air Support & Delivery

Link to Armed Forces/Reserves: Veteran May 1997- Nov 2002 – Lieutenant Royal Navy

Length of service: 5.5 years 

“As a young NHS Project Manager, I was having a particularly torrid time with work and wanted a new direction. By chance, walked past a Careers Office and had a random thought that is would be the ultimate challenge as a knew so little about military opportunities, so I went in and followed it through. The Royal Navy (RN) won for me as at the time it was still fairly early on in recruiting women into the Warfare Branch (frontline serving) and had available to me the greatest number of career specialisms still open to me in my mid-twenties (plus, to be honest, the thought of driving a warship sounded pretty exciting). 

My brother had always deemed me ‘bossy’ but on reflection I just enjoy the challenges of leadership and so that with a sense of fulfilling a purpose made me happy with the RN as a career choice; I love learning and there is plenty to learn about people and technical skills, especially when you’re on deployment and it’s a 24/7 commitment. 

Being part of the Armed Forces family has provided me with so many experiences, it’s almost impossible to choose a highlight: The different experiences in tech from serving on Mine-Hunters to Frigates, and the responsibilities that come with the career; the friendships and memories of the runs ashore and tough career moments that created them; the banter; and then comes the travel. I have been to parts of the world that have really opened my eyes. Djibouti was not my favourite, but South Georgia (Antarctic Circle), Falklands, Middle-East (in uniform is very different to as a female tourist), South America and also sailed the Panama, Suez and Patagonian Canals… I could go on but I won’t!  

Choosing a life in the Armed Forces is not easy. Like any job, there’s bits you’ll find difficult and be unimpressed with but, if you keep an open mind and work hard, you’ll find some incredible opportunities to grow, including how to learn to quickly adapt and overcome, especially in some cases “when death is on the line!” (and yes, that is a quote from The Princess Bride!).” 

Toby Hann

Senior Systems Engineer

Link to Armed Forces: Veteran Army (REME) and Royal Navy Mechanical Aircraft Engineer. 

Length of service: 20 years (12 Army, 8 RN) 

“I joined the Army in the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers corps (REME) as an aircraft technician from school to be become eventually an Apache Pilot and ended up staying on an engineer and ultimately transferred in the RN after stint on transfer between the services. I just love the access to great training opportunities and getting to work in challenging ways all over the world that being part of the Armed Forces gets you.  

One of my best memories is from conducting an air test as a flying maintainer on a Lynx Mk8 in the Gulf during a full dual carrier fleet (American and French) photo exercise. I was re-tasked to carry out photo recognisance and show of force of two new Iranian Gun boats heading towards the fleets. However, that is topped by being invited to visit Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the Caribbean, being given a tour and watching 100m men’s heats of the Rio Olympics with him in the grand house.  

My experience has proved to be hugely transferable to what I do now in civilian life and I’m happy to be able to continue supporting the Armed Forces, albeit from the other side of the fence.   

For anyone considering a career in the Armed Forces, I recommend going for every opportunity that is presented to you (and look of others that aren’t) and do as much sport and adventures training possible.”