August 27, 2025 • 30 mins
In today’s episode, we sit down with Lieutenant Sophie Farrelly RLC, who shares her journey from university student to commissioned Army Officer - all funded by the British Army’s bursary scheme.
Sophie shares how she discovered the scholarship route in sixth form, upgraded to a STEM bursary during her degree, and graduated with a clear career path into Sandhurst and beyond.
If you're considering university but want financial support, leadership training, and real-world adventure, this episode is your inside look at how the Army can open doors - and pay you to walk through them.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome back to Future You.
The podcast brought to youby graduate careers experts prospects.
I'm your host, Emily Slade,and in this episode, I chat to Lieutenant
Sophie Farrelly, RLC,a troop commander for the British Army,
about her career path.
Using their scholarshipand bursary scheme.
Hi, I'm Sophie, I'm 24,and I'm in the British Army
(00:22):
and an officer, and I'm currentlyin the middle of a trick.
London.
And I've been in since September 2020.
Amazing.
let's go right back to the beginning.
What was your education journey?
Educational journey?
So I finished my GCSEs.
And I went to do my A-levels.
So I did biology, chemistry and Englishliterature, all quite broad subjects
(00:44):
because I didn't really know what routeI wanted to take.
So I just thought I'd keep my options opengoing forwards.
Like when I was at sixth form, my mum,who was in the military previously,
she stated that there's this kind of sixthform scholarship that the Army does
and that if you pass it,you got better funding.
And it's like a gateway into the army.
But if you don't want to go forwardswith that career, you can also say no.
(01:08):
But what she did say isif you pass the selection board,
it looks quite favorable for your CVgoing to university.
So I was like, okay,you can give give that a try
Gave it a shot, didn't know how it wouldgo, and I passed it
and was awarded the scholarship towhich was really grateful for from there,
because I wasn't really sureif an Army career is what I wanted.
(01:30):
It was just somethingthat my mum had done.
She'd suggested I still didn't knowwhat Rita was to take, but I did know that
I wanted to go something people focused,and people centered.
So it did kind of match the criteriaI was looking for.
And being honest at the time, I didn'treally know what else it was today.
Plus I'd just been awardedthe scholarship.
(01:51):
I thought, well, actually,
perhaps the Army seen something in myselfthat maybe I haven't seen before.
it started with a scholarship, which Ithen extended to a bursary at university.
I did my A-levels.
I don't much university.
It was University of EastAnglia in Norwich.
So it's a little bit further from homebecause is home for me.
Like it's really good for the sciences.
And I did biomedicine.
(02:11):
I love the degree of threeas long and all about the body.
Maybe a bit too much about the body.
And yeah, whilst I was a university,I did something called University
of the Training Core.
So this was part of my contractwith my scholarship that it was.
Yeah. Essentiallysomething that I had to do on the side.
But it was so much fun,and I found that it cemented
(02:35):
that actually, this career pathis what I'd like to do. So
to give a summary of
the University of the Training Corpsor ROTC for short,
they've got a few scatteredaround the country.
My closest one was Cambridge.
So I went there from Norwichwith some of the Cambridge students,
which was really good to meet new peopleand network in that sense.
(02:56):
essentially you just turned into a poolwith loads
of like minded individualswho are interested in some of the things.
So they're scattered around the country.
Cambridge was the closest for me,and essentially they put on things like,
I've seen military skillsand teach me the basics.
There, and you get to
go down to the ranges and fire a weaponfor the first time, or land drill,
all of these kind of stereotypical armythings.
(03:20):
also they also had like sports adventures,training opportunities.
But essentially it was just like a reallynice way to get away from university
and do something on the side.
And it was paid as well.
So as a young student,
it was nice to have
an extra source of income,but doing something
that I actually really enjoyedand with people that I liked.
(03:40):
So that's what I did for the three yearsalongside my degree
and then straight into straight after,graduating.
Sorry, I joined the Army,so I went straight into the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst Army's show to Sandhurstshow, I was essentially training year.
I graduated in the summer of 22.
I then started training September 2022,
(04:04):
and then I finished my training in August2023.
amazing.
So was that the point
where you could have opted outonce you'd finished your degree?
If you didn't,
then want to progress into the Army,could you have just been like, no.
At that point?
Yeah. So there's always the option.
So at that pointI'd taken the scholarship, which meant
that I'd been given a little bit of moneyas support from the Army.
(04:26):
But if I didn't, if I did change my mind,then absolutely, I can back out of it.
But I'd have to pay the money back.
But when I was initially offeredthe money, obviously
you don't have to say yes at that moment.
You have a bit of time to think,
and if you didn't want that,but you've still passed
the main board at school,the Army officer selection Board.
I also be sureyou've got a couple of years after that.
(04:48):
If you don't want to join straight away,then you've got the opportunity
to in a couple of years laterif you want to.
I don't know the timeframe.
Yeah,I think it's about five or last years.
so you've kind of touched on itwith your mum's background
and obviouslygetting access to the scholarship.
But what really cementedthat opinion for you?
What made you want to join the Army?
(05:09):
The question,
I think for me, the official decisionthat I wanted to join was, wasn't
something that happened over the spaceof a couple of days, couple of weeks.
It was something that was spreadover a decent amount of time, speaking
maybe like a year or two in the sensethat, yes, I was presented
with the opportunity of a scholarshipat the start, like we discussed earlier.
There's always that route to back outif you want to, even at university.
(05:32):
So I think a mix of obviouslymy mum's background,
she never pushed me in that direction.
But, you know, hearing her storiesand her friend's stories,
going to University of the Training Corps.That massively cemented it.
But I don't think there was any onespecific thing that kind of confirmed
it to me. It was just
through research and, andthe, those things I've already stated, it
kind of came togetherand that there wasn't any negatives.
(05:55):
I just couldn'tfind any negatives at the time.
I really wanted to do somethingpeople focused and, you know,
without sounding cliché,with a kind of sense of purpose.
And it absolutely takes those boxes.
So that's kind ofwhat happened to run with it.
And so far I've got no regrets.
Yeah. Really.
yeah.
So tell us a little bitabout this bursary.
Of course.
(06:16):
So the Army offersscholarships and bursaries.
So it's kind of split them downand summarize it.
You've got the scholarshipswhich are open to sixth form students.
And then you've got bursarieswhich you can apply for at university.
So in my casebefore going into the specifics,
I did the sixth form scholarship boardand I was awarded a scholarship.
(06:36):
But then I was given the opportunityto upgrade that to a bursary university.
So again,I'll go into the different types.
But I was then
because of the scholarship board,automatically given a standard bursary.
But from thereyou could upgrade it further
to all of the bigger bursariesif you wanted to, based on the criteria.
So yeah.
So with scholarships and bursariesslightly separate, as I iterated
(06:59):
to earlier, I've got some notesjust so I'm up to date with like, today's,
Guidance on scholarships and bursariesfrom the, on the website.
So forgive meif I read my notes a little bit,
but the army of the scholarship schemeor scholarship board
that I did, the application criteriafor that is you've got to be 16
or 17 years old, and you've got to applyby March of year 12.
(07:21):
So lower six if you're successfulin that initial, selection process there,
you'll then be put onto a biggerselection process which is the Army
Officer selection board OSP,which is exactly the same
as someone who's 18 and aboveapplying to the wider Army would do.
But instead of lookingfor more of a finished product,
(07:41):
they're looking for more potentialbecause you are a bit younger.
So you go to the Army of the scholarshipboard in June or July,
and if you're successful, you qualifyfor a commission within the Army.
So essentiallythat means that if you do pass
and you decide to take the scholarship,then you've got a guaranteed place
of the university in the Army.So guaranteed career.
(08:03):
And it kind of gives youthat sense of stability.
Like we said earlier, if you don't wantto, then that's also absolutely fine.
So a bit of the kind of applicationcriteria, in your GCSE
is you've got to get at least 40 accesspoints, including a pass
in English language,maths and either science or language.
And then Scottish nationalqualifications, you need 34 other points.
(08:24):
But if we're lookingat the financial side,
if you are successful,you will receive 3,000 pounds in year 13.
So once you've done the selectionprocess in year 12,
you'll be awardedwith 3,000 pounds in opposite.
So year 13, that sixth form.
this is then upgradedto a provisional 6,000 pound standard
undergraduate bursary.
(08:44):
And that's for three a course like mine.
But if you do a four year coursethat's 7,000 pounds.
So you can see that
the money there is pretty generous,especially for university student.
Because money can be quitetight in university.
So that's the standard scholarship.
So with the scholarships
and with the bursaries,there is this expectation that you deserve
at least four years,including the training year at Sandhurst.
(09:05):
But for the money that you're given
and the opportunitiesthat you're presented with, to me,
I see thatas quite a small town of service,
once you're at university,whether you're on the Sunday
pathway, like I was, or not,you can apply for a bursary.
So this is essentially an upgrade fromthe scholarship, which is more full level.
This is now speaking to all universitystudents,
and I'll go into a couple of themif that works.
(09:27):
there's different criteria for each.
And as a result, differentfinancial benefits.
So there's a range of different bursariesthat the Army has an offer.
And I think a lot of peopledon't actually know about them.
I met a couple of Army bussesthrough my kind of, Army career so far.
But again, some people didn't even realizeI was a possibility.
And in some ways feel like they were,like, left out in the sense.
(09:49):
So I think it's goodthat people know about it.
So you've got the standard bursarylike I've already mentioned.
So even if you haven't donethe scholarship
initially, a sixth form does somethingyou can still apply for, and it's open
to every single university student,no matter what your discipline is.
And with a standard bursary,you can join any regiment
or any part of the British Armyonce you've commissioned.
(10:09):
So there's no restrictions there.
Then we go on to the Army UndergraduateEnhanced bursary.
So this is another type of bursaryyou can apply for university.
But this one's open to the best performingcandidates.
It says on the Army website.
So this will be more competitivein that sense.
And to apply for this bursary at A-levelyou need at least AB
or Scottish equivalent.
(10:30):
And you need to be on trackto get a two on the university.
with this oneyou could receive up to 24,000 pounds.
also you can joinany part of the Army as an officer.
So a lot more generous and also not toorestrictive in your Army career as well.
Then we go on to the ArmyUndergraduate Stem bursary, which is now
also got the name of the Stemundergraduate sponsorship scheme.
(10:51):
So the de sus this is the one I got graded myself to.
It's changed a little bit since but thisis the one that when I went to university
because I did biomedicine,it was an army to some degree.
So I applied for that and was verygrateful to have been accepted for that.
But essentially, this bursary is opento anyone wanting to join
(11:13):
one of the Stem course, And essentially
it means that you'rea bit more limited in the branches.
You can choose within the Army,
but it's still quite a
large list to choose from,and are just a bit more stem stem related.
I guess just with the skill setthat you bring to the table.
And like I said, you have to be studyingan almost Stem degree.
with this one you can receive up to 42,750
pounds right across your university years.
(11:36):
it's a large amount.
a lot of people quite life changing,especially as a university student,
So the career options within the Army,
you can be anofficer in one of the following branches.
So you have the Royal Engineers, the RoyalSignals,
the Royal Electrical and MechanicalEngineers, the Royal Logistic Corps RLC.
So that's what I'm in,the Royal Artillery, the Adjutant
(11:57):
General Corps, Army Corpsand the Intelligence Corps.
So you can see it's quite a large letter.
It's restricted in a sense,because there's
so much you can do within the Army,but there are still so many options.
I think the Army's recognizingthat they're wanting
a lot more different skillsets,different angles, different minds,
different thingsthat people bring to the table,
And then finally we've got the ArmyMedical Services EMS bursary.
(12:20):
this is available to potential medical,
dental, veterinary and nursingprofessionally qualified officers.
So professionally qualified officersis called PCAs for short.
This it's quite a mouthful.
And with theseyou got different amounts of money.
And these are the more generous bursaries.
So medicine and dentalyou can get 75,000 pounds from the Army
(12:42):
veterinary you can get 60,000 pounds.
And then nursing is 42,000 pounds.
Againall very life changing amounts of money.
And with these you must serve three yearsafter commissioning
or finishing your training.
Because PCAs their training,course is not a year.
It's a shortened course.
Which is why there's a slightly differentreturn of service there.
(13:03):
So, yeah, you can see thatthere's a lot of different opportunities
on offer from the Army.
And again, like I said earlier,not many people know about it,
but that's justa general summary from myself.
And if people did want to look into the Army website, the best place
to go, in my opinion, because that'swhere I got all this information from.
And they have so much more informationon there,
(13:24):
not just about bursaries,but generally about the career as well.
So if people are interested,it's quite a good place to go.
Yeah, fantastic.
So let's talknow about your specific role.
Like what is it that you do day to day.
Like what's a day in the life of your job?
Also another good questionbecause it's so varied.
What I've really enjoyed aboutthe job is how diverse it is
and the range of opportunities you have,
(13:47):
and the range of kind of challengesthat you're faced with too.
Like, I genuinely wouldn'tbe able to give you like a stock
answer of what my day looks like.
I can say what my like dayin work would look like, for example,
But again, this doesn't always happen.
So let's say the today's Tuesday.
So if I was at work todayand I would wake up and go to say
(14:10):
a bit of exercise, as the regimentcomes together and then a smaller squadron
that we work in, like our smaller teams,we will then go off and do different
sessions.
So thatwould last for an hour in the morning.
And then we'll head back into workfor the rest of the morning
and then general work in the afternoon.
But essentially, as a troop commander,
(14:31):
like I said earlier, is kind oflike a managerial role in a sense.
Essentially,you're just managing a team of soldiers
and depending on where you go, differentbranches.
Different colors, different regiments,you have a different sized team.
So somewhere I am,because the logistics is a big, core,
the platoon or troop size.
Sorry, range from about 30 to 40 peoplethat you're managing.
(14:54):
But my friend who's gone to intelligence,for example, it's a team of ten.
So it really depends.
And as a result,you have different working relationship
because the working with peoplemore closely or less closely.
But now has been it's been good.
Yeah.
So you're in charge oflike 30 to 40 people.
Does that mean you're with them constantlyand you all travel together.
(15:15):
And what does that sort of look like.
What does that relationship look like.
so yeah.
So I've got my team. My treat.
And I thought that I would when Icame into the job, see them a lot more.
But it hasn't necessarily been the caseSo I work at somewhere called 17 quarter
Maritime Regiment,which is this corner of and sign here
and they are port operators in my troop.
(15:36):
But then you've got mariners downthere, you've got marine engineers but
VSS which is vehicle support specialists.
Everyone say supporting
because they've got such a niche skill setthat works down in that location.
Down in Madrid,it means that they're constantly deployed
on rotations.
we've also got to man or work workingport as well.
So we're down near Southampton.
(15:57):
people are always on the go.
And I think that's why it's suchan exciting place to work, because again,
you don't necessarily see all your teamor your soldiers all the time,
but you know what they're doing
this obviously ways of tracking themand seeing what people are doing.
people come back with really good storiesand the opportunity to travel both
for the soldiers, but also on the oppositeside of things, a troop commander.
They're so broad and so vast.So have you traveled?
(16:19):
So I've been quite lucky at my regiment.
I'm really grateful for the opportunitiesI presented me with.
So I joined my regiment January 2024.
So last year,and I had my first deployment in March
time, I believe, which was a port taskgroup or PCG for short and essentially
(16:40):
when you load
up a vessel with cash and equipment,vehicles and the like,
when you send off to another country,you need to make sure
you've got port operatorsto kind of take out. You'll often.
So quite often we have these pigs dottedacross the world and quite cool locations.
This one this time round was Estonia.
So we went down there for a week,which was really, really good fun.
(17:00):
And then I flew directly down to Poland.
So those are big exercises on uptimecalled Operation Land to type up.
And you had lots of different elements
of your army come togetherand essentially work on this big exercise.
17 port maritime rolewas essentially to get people home.
It was kind of the rounding offthe operation essentially, and making sure
(17:21):
people get home, that cat gets homein the right place, right time.
And then there was a lot of kitand equipment I can tell you about.
So that was really good, especiallybecause I was still so new in the job.
You know, you're given quite a largeamount of responsibility quite quickly.
Which is kind of nice.
I quite like that
they didn't throw you in the deep endbut there's always that support network.
But to kind of throwyou straight in straight away,
(17:42):
you kind of just, get to know everyoneso much better as a result.
So I'm very grateful for,after that, in about my time,
I went on something called OperationUnderhill.
this one was really exciting.
Because the idea behind it, andit was meant to be a real time operation,
the main reason we were doingis because we wanted to help the Americans
(18:02):
who were creating the pools at the time.
And in Gaza,we wanted to go and help deliver that aid.
So it was a humanitarian aid operation.
So we were working as an attachmentto the Royal Marines on something
called like an RFA vessel.
So the Royal Fleet Auxiliary,and we're working with them
essentially like creating this plan, onhow we would do that and how we would help
(18:24):
the Americans deliver this aid.
So super exciting to be kind of partof a real time planning process
with real time consequences toif if you did get things wrong.
So we had thingskind of planned and prepped, but
sometimes these things for sorryand that is what happened here.
So we didn't get sent home.
But to even just have like a snippet ofthat was so
(18:48):
unique and I'm so gratefulto have had that opportunity.
So those have kind of been my deployments.
But then on the sports side,I've also been quite lucky
because I joined the national team.
So you have regimental netball teams,which is like your unit
and then where you part for our rock.
So the logistics corps,so they have a core team as well.
(19:09):
So I was lucky enoughto kind of join in with them.
And they invited me down to Cape Townto do an Apple tour of two weeks,
which was incredible.
it wasn't my cause.
I didn't expect that to beall my full course events at all.
But when the opportunity came up,you know, my chain of command was
supportive and were like, yeah, it's fine.
And and so I went along and did that,which was fabulous.
(19:32):
So many other opportunities that the Armyhas with sports, adventures, training,
like I went to Norway in Francein December and January,
time to do a ski season,which again, absolutely incredible.
you can't believe thatit's your job in a way.
That that was new for me.
I've done a bit of skiing before,
but we were doing ski racing,so very different type of skiing.
(19:55):
Required a lot of courage.
Sending yourself down the slopes.
But the opportunities have been so broadand that's there's like a couple of them.
I know other people to have gone offto do things like sailing, rock climbing,
mountain biking,I think a lot of the time as well,
people don't realize that about the Army.
It's not all about work.Don't get me wrong.
that is the main kind of emphasis.
(20:15):
And the deployments,especially my regiment, because it is a
working regiment.
But there is always timefor those other things,
and it is still seenas something important,
because that's what buildsa three dimensional person, right?
So when you get deployed,do you have time to for yourself
you you have your work hours, but then areyou able to explore where you've landed
So I think it depends.
(20:36):
It depends on what you're going out to do.
So with the port task groupin Estonia, for example, we went out
and there's work to do.
But when you don't have work to do thenyeah, you can have a little explore around
the area.
But when we were in Poland, for example,Operation Monotype,
that was a lot more exercise focused. Yes.
You're in the mindset simulating that.
(20:57):
This is like the real thing.
So it's not quite the same.
So it's really situationdependent on whom.
so you're traveling a lotbut you also in a lot.
How often do you get leaveand to visit family.
So it's more than you'd expect.
And again it really depends onobviously the current climate
and what's going on within the regimentand tasking is coming through.
(21:19):
But I think there'sthis kind of stigma around the army
that you're always on the move,always, you know, never at home.
And don't get me wrong,sometimes that can be the case.
And it's very dependenton where you go with your career.
But it's not always the case.
I very much think that is a myth thatsometimes needs to be busted a little bit.
sometimes you've kind of gotlike a directed posting
(21:41):
where you have to go,based on certain circumstances,
that a lot of the timesome deployments can be voluntary based.
At least they are my regiment.
There always has to bethe places failed like bombs disease.
But there is that leeway there.
And there is still kind of a huge pushfor things like G1.
So your welfare, Don't get me wrong.
(22:03):
mission comes first, but if there's a waythat we can prioritize people's
welfare in their own family situations,then absolutely we will.
Yeah, but are there any other mythsthat you would like to bust?
don't know
because there's so many different mythsand different ways
it could be something is low levelas the fitness standards to me, the main
myth, I think sometimesI have to even bust with my own friends
(22:25):
is the general stereotype of British Armyversion soldier, British Army officer.
I'm like, who is it?
What do you think of when you hear that?
And I think when I've spoken to my friendsquite a few times, they picture
your infantry soldierwho is out on the ground
and they've got a weaponwith a bayonet fixed or,
you know, doing something supernaturally,which absolutely is the case.
(22:47):
And there are people who do that,and we all have that basic training
going through eitherSandhurst or soldier training.
But it's not always like that.
You know, people jump to it
thinking that'swhat you're doing all the time,
or you're always deployedand you're always away.
But actually there'sso much more to the Army.
There's all these different rolesyou can see that I mentioned.
(23:08):
Does these kind of more Stemfocused, backgrounds where essentially
you supportingthat infantry soldier. Right.
So mission critical, absolute.
They, they need to get things done.
But why would they do thatwithout the sustainment from logistics?
Why would they do thatwith the communications from the signals
where they do that with and and aspectsfrom like the Remi or the engineers.
(23:28):
So I think people can be varied.
And again, I, I say people, it'snot everyone,
but I'd saythe average person can be very narrow,
minded, narrow,focused on what the Army is about
and not actually know aboutall these other other kind of branches,
but also sports opportunities and exercisethat it is not all just that one thing.
(23:51):
what kind of skillswould you say you need for your role?
I think again, it's super varied.
It's dependent on the person.
And I guess me saying this now,
I mean, like the rest of thiskind of podcast interview,
it's all my opinion, right?
But I think the skill sets
you need to have, obviouslythere's an element of mental resilience
because you can get very busyvery quickly, or the kind of
(24:15):
it doesn't happen as often,but like fitness wise,
you need to make sure that you can pushthrough those kind of barriers.
The ultimate is just to make surethat when things do
get stressful, fast paced,you can sense really the team,
if you're not mentally,mentally resilient yourself,
how can you expect others to be so okay,so I think that's quite a big thing.
And I think as a officercommunication is super key as well.
(24:39):
I mean, it's key across the Armythat I think a lot of the times
I've seen it myselfwhere things aren't communicated properly
down, down or up the chain of command,and that's where things have gone wrong.
So I think you got to be confidentin yourself in that way.
And I haven't always beenthe most confident.
And there's something I would still say,being honest, I struggle with to this day
(25:00):
kind of backing yourself up,but I would say going through
the Sandhurst yearof training absolutely helped.
Because you realize how much potentialyou have.
But ultimately, for me personally,I would say the best thing
you can have,all the best skill is compassion.
I think empathyand having that emotional intelligence
is key, and being able to run and workalongside a team,
(25:24):
because if you can understandpeople's strengths and weaknesses,
you can utilize them in better ways.
Or like we said, with the deployments,you kind of know the situation
better and as a result,you've got a better working team.
As a result, you have better results.
And if you've got a team that works foryou, makes your life easier too.
And I always, alwaysI would say compassion is key.
So what advice would you give for peoplelooking to follow in your footsteps?
(25:48):
I think perseverance is a very big thing,especially in training,
because I'd say that goingthrough that training.
Yeah.
And I can't speak of how it isfor soldiers going through a
on an army officer kind of perspectivethat year.
Sandhurst is created to challenge.
and it is not reflective of whatthe wider only looks like,
(26:09):
because it's a lot more meticulouswith everything.
And they are.
That's challenge you and seewhat your mental resilience is like.
And are you someone who can kind of fit inwith the bigger team?
Right.
So I would say in those circumstances,even if you feel like, oh,
maybe this isn't for me, like thatis what they're testing you for there.
You're saying,can you get through those moments?
(26:30):
sense of personal growth,
and just like meetingsuch like minded people and I've got some.
Yeah.
Without sounding too cliche or whatever,got some fab friends out of it.
So it is all set in the end.
Just persevere and knowthat you're being tested for a reason.
what's been one of your biggest challengesso far.
I think one of the biggest challengesI faced in my role as a troop
(26:52):
commander was actually kindof my first few days
at the regiment, with my troop,because you're coming in
and people know that you're you're freshout of the Sandhurst factory, essentially,
and you want to have goodfirst impressions.
And there's a range of experiencein the troop.
You know, you've got peoplewho've been serving for their first year,
(27:14):
and then you've got peoplewho've been close to 20 years.
So coming in and trying to adjustto the kind of working patterns
they've got already,and kind of integrating into that team,
I think
was probably one of my biggest concernsbecause
I never wanted to ruffle any feathers.
So I think coming in, the mindsetI kind of just went in with was,
(27:35):
okay, well, I'm here to play my roleand they've all got their roles.
And yes,the Army has a sense of hierarchy,
which is absolute, that for good reason.
And, you know,everyone respects the hierarchy.
However, my approach was we are threepriority and you pay your power or talent.
And I found so farthat must be multiplied. Well
(27:55):
And finally, I do have a question
around the support that the Army offerin terms of mental health.
Is there something in place there.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think that there's a largerpush on this over
recent years in comparison to when my mumwent through in the 80s, for example.
Right.
a lot of organizations are included,as well as the importance of, championing
(28:16):
Mental health.
And we've got so many differentsupport schemes.
Whether you speak to the Padre orthe welfare team that we've got on site,
you've got like anonymous organizations,we've always got kind of posters up
and about whereif people don't really want to speak
with their, chain of command,which is encouraged,
but sometimes people are uncomfortablerather than there's means and ways of,
(28:38):
you know, getting that supportwithout people knowing
because everyone'scircumstance is different. Right.
I would say, you know,going through there's
definitely been that kind of supportstructure, that network, and
if you did need it, then you would kind ofhave pool selection to choose from.
So yeah, I think it's been good. Great.
So what's next in your career.
(28:58):
So I've recently just found outmy next postings.
So as an officeryour postings tend to change
about every two years, give or take.
So my two years it
I can't regiment coming to an endand I found out that I'm going to Perth.
Right.
So it's a training center for phaseone soldiers.
So brand new coming into the Armyand looking to start a career.
(29:19):
I'm very excited about that.
And again, super gratefulto being given such an opportunity
these peopleat the start of their careers.
And any influence I can have on themto kind of make their careers
or the start of their career is a positiveplace and have that perseverance
through somethingthat's quite challenging.
Perhaps the biggest challengethat you've ever faced?
I'm really excited to be part of thatjourney, I'm conscious that, you know,
(29:39):
I've been speaking aboutmy personal kind of journey for myself,
and I just want to say, obviously,these are my own opinions,
apart from the factson scholarships and bursaries.
But if people did want to know more,then there's like YouTube blogs online,
but also say I think the best sourceis the on the website because
the information there on the videos, atmost up to date and most factual amazing.
(30:04):
Well,thank you so much for your time today.
And thank you so much for having me here.
I think it's so nice to be ableto give representation on again.
It's my own personal opinionsand experience, but to kind of broadcast
these opportunities that the Army doeshave to offer and essentially
like not break the stigmas as such,but give further awareness.
And I'm really gratefulfor the opportunity.
(30:25):
So thank you.
Thanks again to Sophie for that time.
For more information on joining the Army,you can check out the show notes below.
For a full length video version
of this episode, check out our YouTubechannel at Future You Pod.
If you enjoyed the episode, do feel freeto leave us a review on Apple or Spotify.
Thank you, as always, for listening andgood luck on your journey to future. You.
Hello and welcome back to Future You.
The podcast brought to youby graduate careers experts prospects.
I'm your host, Emily Slade,and in this episode, I chat to Lieutenant
Sophie Farrelly, RLC,a troop commander for the British Army,
about her career path.
Using their scholarshipand bursary scheme.
Hi, I'm Sophie, I'm 24,and I'm in the British Army
(00:22):
and an officer, and I'm currentlyin the middle of a trick.
London.
And I've been in since September 2020.
Amazing.
let's go right back to the beginning.
What was your education journey?
Educational journey?
So I finished my GCSEs.
And I went to do my A-levels.
So I did biology, chemistry and Englishliterature, all quite broad subjects
(00:44):
because I didn't really know what routeI wanted to take.
So I just thought I'd keep my options opengoing forwards.
Like when I was at sixth form, my mum,who was in the military previously,
she stated that there's this kind of sixthform scholarship that the Army does
and that if you pass it,you got better funding.
And it's like a gateway into the army.
But if you don't want to go forwardswith that career, you can also say no.
(01:08):
But what she did say isif you pass the selection board,
it looks quite favorable for your CVgoing to university.
So I was like, okay,you can give give that a try
Gave it a shot, didn't know how it wouldgo, and I passed it
and was awarded the scholarship towhich was really grateful for from there,
because I wasn't really sureif an Army career is what I wanted.
(01:30):
It was just somethingthat my mum had done.
She'd suggested I still didn't knowwhat Rita was to take, but I did know that
I wanted to go something people focused,and people centered.
So it did kind of match the criteriaI was looking for.
And being honest at the time, I didn'treally know what else it was today.
Plus I'd just been awardedthe scholarship.
(01:51):
I thought, well, actually,
perhaps the Army seen something in myselfthat maybe I haven't seen before.
it started with a scholarship, which Ithen extended to a bursary at university.
I did my A-levels.
I don't much university.
It was University of EastAnglia in Norwich.
So it's a little bit further from homebecause is home for me.
Like it's really good for the sciences.
And I did biomedicine.
(02:11):
I love the degree of threeas long and all about the body.
Maybe a bit too much about the body.
And yeah, whilst I was a university,I did something called University
of the Training Core.
So this was part of my contractwith my scholarship that it was.
Yeah. Essentiallysomething that I had to do on the side.
But it was so much fun,and I found that it cemented
(02:35):
that actually, this career pathis what I'd like to do. So
to give a summary of
the University of the Training Corpsor ROTC for short,
they've got a few scatteredaround the country.
My closest one was Cambridge.
So I went there from Norwichwith some of the Cambridge students,
which was really good to meet new peopleand network in that sense.
(02:56):
essentially you just turned into a poolwith loads
of like minded individualswho are interested in some of the things.
So they're scattered around the country.
Cambridge was the closest for me,and essentially they put on things like,
I've seen military skillsand teach me the basics.
There, and you get to
go down to the ranges and fire a weaponfor the first time, or land drill,
all of these kind of stereotypical armythings.
(03:20):
also they also had like sports adventures,training opportunities.
But essentially it was just like a reallynice way to get away from university
and do something on the side.
And it was paid as well.
So as a young student,
it was nice to have
an extra source of income,but doing something
that I actually really enjoyedand with people that I liked.
(03:40):
So that's what I did for the three yearsalongside my degree
and then straight into straight after,graduating.
Sorry, I joined the Army,so I went straight into the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst Army's show to Sandhurstshow, I was essentially training year.
I graduated in the summer of 22.
I then started training September 2022,
(04:04):
and then I finished my training in August2023.
amazing.
So was that the point
where you could have opted outonce you'd finished your degree?
If you didn't,
then want to progress into the Army,could you have just been like, no.
At that point?
Yeah. So there's always the option.
So at that pointI'd taken the scholarship, which meant
that I'd been given a little bit of moneyas support from the Army.
(04:26):
But if I didn't, if I did change my mind,then absolutely, I can back out of it.
But I'd have to pay the money back.
But when I was initially offeredthe money, obviously
you don't have to say yes at that moment.
You have a bit of time to think,
and if you didn't want that,but you've still passed
the main board at school,the Army officer selection Board.
I also be sureyou've got a couple of years after that.
(04:48):
If you don't want to join straight away,then you've got the opportunity
to in a couple of years laterif you want to.
I don't know the timeframe.
Yeah,I think it's about five or last years.
so you've kind of touched on itwith your mum's background
and obviouslygetting access to the scholarship.
But what really cementedthat opinion for you?
What made you want to join the Army?
(05:09):
The question,
I think for me, the official decisionthat I wanted to join was, wasn't
something that happened over the spaceof a couple of days, couple of weeks.
It was something that was spreadover a decent amount of time, speaking
maybe like a year or two in the sensethat, yes, I was presented
with the opportunity of a scholarshipat the start, like we discussed earlier.
There's always that route to back outif you want to, even at university.
(05:32):
So I think a mix of obviouslymy mum's background,
she never pushed me in that direction.
But, you know, hearing her storiesand her friend's stories,
going to University of the Training Corps.That massively cemented it.
But I don't think there was any onespecific thing that kind of confirmed
it to me. It was just
through research and, andthe, those things I've already stated, it
kind of came togetherand that there wasn't any negatives.
(05:55):
I just couldn'tfind any negatives at the time.
I really wanted to do somethingpeople focused and, you know,
without sounding cliché,with a kind of sense of purpose.
And it absolutely takes those boxes.
So that's kind ofwhat happened to run with it.
And so far I've got no regrets.
Yeah. Really.
yeah.
So tell us a little bitabout this bursary.
Of course.
(06:16):
So the Army offersscholarships and bursaries.
So it's kind of split them downand summarize it.
You've got the scholarshipswhich are open to sixth form students.
And then you've got bursarieswhich you can apply for at university.
So in my casebefore going into the specifics,
I did the sixth form scholarship boardand I was awarded a scholarship.
(06:36):
But then I was given the opportunityto upgrade that to a bursary university.
So again,I'll go into the different types.
But I was then
because of the scholarship board,automatically given a standard bursary.
But from thereyou could upgrade it further
to all of the bigger bursariesif you wanted to, based on the criteria.
So yeah.
So with scholarships and bursariesslightly separate, as I iterated
(06:59):
to earlier, I've got some notesjust so I'm up to date with like, today's,
Guidance on scholarships and bursariesfrom the, on the website.
So forgive meif I read my notes a little bit,
but the army of the scholarship schemeor scholarship board
that I did, the application criteriafor that is you've got to be 16
or 17 years old, and you've got to applyby March of year 12.
(07:21):
So lower six if you're successfulin that initial, selection process there,
you'll then be put onto a biggerselection process which is the Army
Officer selection board OSP,which is exactly the same
as someone who's 18 and aboveapplying to the wider Army would do.
But instead of lookingfor more of a finished product,
(07:41):
they're looking for more potentialbecause you are a bit younger.
So you go to the Army of the scholarshipboard in June or July,
and if you're successful, you qualifyfor a commission within the Army.
So essentiallythat means that if you do pass
and you decide to take the scholarship,then you've got a guaranteed place
of the university in the Army.So guaranteed career.
(08:03):
And it kind of gives youthat sense of stability.
Like we said earlier, if you don't wantto, then that's also absolutely fine.
So a bit of the kind of applicationcriteria, in your GCSE
is you've got to get at least 40 accesspoints, including a pass
in English language,maths and either science or language.
And then Scottish nationalqualifications, you need 34 other points.
(08:24):
But if we're lookingat the financial side,
if you are successful,you will receive 3,000 pounds in year 13.
So once you've done the selectionprocess in year 12,
you'll be awardedwith 3,000 pounds in opposite.
So year 13, that sixth form.
this is then upgradedto a provisional 6,000 pound standard
undergraduate bursary.
(08:44):
And that's for three a course like mine.
But if you do a four year coursethat's 7,000 pounds.
So you can see that
the money there is pretty generous,especially for university student.
Because money can be quitetight in university.
So that's the standard scholarship.
So with the scholarships
and with the bursaries,there is this expectation that you deserve
at least four years,including the training year at Sandhurst.
(09:05):
But for the money that you're given
and the opportunitiesthat you're presented with, to me,
I see thatas quite a small town of service,
once you're at university,whether you're on the Sunday
pathway, like I was, or not,you can apply for a bursary.
So this is essentially an upgrade fromthe scholarship, which is more full level.
This is now speaking to all universitystudents,
and I'll go into a couple of themif that works.
(09:27):
there's different criteria for each.
And as a result, differentfinancial benefits.
So there's a range of different bursariesthat the Army has an offer.
And I think a lot of peopledon't actually know about them.
I met a couple of Army bussesthrough my kind of, Army career so far.
But again, some people didn't even realizeI was a possibility.
And in some ways feel like they were,like, left out in the sense.
(09:49):
So I think it's goodthat people know about it.
So you've got the standard bursarylike I've already mentioned.
So even if you haven't donethe scholarship
initially, a sixth form does somethingyou can still apply for, and it's open
to every single university student,no matter what your discipline is.
And with a standard bursary,you can join any regiment
or any part of the British Armyonce you've commissioned.
(10:09):
So there's no restrictions there.
Then we go on to the Army UndergraduateEnhanced bursary.
So this is another type of bursaryyou can apply for university.
But this one's open to the best performingcandidates.
It says on the Army website.
So this will be more competitivein that sense.
And to apply for this bursary at A-levelyou need at least AB
or Scottish equivalent.
(10:30):
And you need to be on trackto get a two on the university.
with this oneyou could receive up to 24,000 pounds.
also you can joinany part of the Army as an officer.
So a lot more generous and also not toorestrictive in your Army career as well.
Then we go on to the ArmyUndergraduate Stem bursary, which is now
also got the name of the Stemundergraduate sponsorship scheme.
(10:51):
So the de sus this is the one I got graded myself to.
It's changed a little bit since but thisis the one that when I went to university
because I did biomedicine,it was an army to some degree.
So I applied for that and was verygrateful to have been accepted for that.
But essentially, this bursary is opento anyone wanting to join
(11:13):
one of the Stem course, And essentially
it means that you'rea bit more limited in the branches.
You can choose within the Army,
but it's still quite a
large list to choose from,and are just a bit more stem stem related.
I guess just with the skill setthat you bring to the table.
And like I said, you have to be studyingan almost Stem degree.
with this one you can receive up to 42,750
pounds right across your university years.
(11:36):
it's a large amount.
a lot of people quite life changing,especially as a university student,
So the career options within the Army,
you can be anofficer in one of the following branches.
So you have the Royal Engineers, the RoyalSignals,
the Royal Electrical and MechanicalEngineers, the Royal Logistic Corps RLC.
So that's what I'm in,the Royal Artillery, the Adjutant
(11:57):
General Corps, Army Corpsand the Intelligence Corps.
So you can see it's quite a large letter.
It's restricted in a sense,because there's
so much you can do within the Army,but there are still so many options.
I think the Army's recognizingthat they're wanting
a lot more different skillsets,different angles, different minds,
different thingsthat people bring to the table,
And then finally we've got the ArmyMedical Services EMS bursary.
(12:20):
this is available to potential medical,
dental, veterinary and nursingprofessionally qualified officers.
So professionally qualified officersis called PCAs for short.
This it's quite a mouthful.
And with theseyou got different amounts of money.
And these are the more generous bursaries.
So medicine and dentalyou can get 75,000 pounds from the Army
(12:42):
veterinary you can get 60,000 pounds.
And then nursing is 42,000 pounds.
Againall very life changing amounts of money.
And with these you must serve three yearsafter commissioning
or finishing your training.
Because PCAs their training,course is not a year.
It's a shortened course.
Which is why there's a slightly differentreturn of service there.
(13:03):
So, yeah, you can see thatthere's a lot of different opportunities
on offer from the Army.
And again, like I said earlier,not many people know about it,
but that's justa general summary from myself.
And if people did want to look into the Army website, the best place
to go, in my opinion, because that'swhere I got all this information from.
And they have so much more informationon there,
(13:24):
not just about bursaries,but generally about the career as well.
So if people are interested,it's quite a good place to go.
Yeah, fantastic.
So let's talknow about your specific role.
Like what is it that you do day to day.
Like what's a day in the life of your job?
Also another good questionbecause it's so varied.
What I've really enjoyed aboutthe job is how diverse it is
and the range of opportunities you have,
(13:47):
and the range of kind of challengesthat you're faced with too.
Like, I genuinely wouldn'tbe able to give you like a stock
answer of what my day looks like.
I can say what my like dayin work would look like, for example,
But again, this doesn't always happen.
So let's say the today's Tuesday.
So if I was at work todayand I would wake up and go to say
(14:10):
a bit of exercise, as the regimentcomes together and then a smaller squadron
that we work in, like our smaller teams,we will then go off and do different
sessions.
So thatwould last for an hour in the morning.
And then we'll head back into workfor the rest of the morning
and then general work in the afternoon.
But essentially, as a troop commander,
(14:31):
like I said earlier, is kind oflike a managerial role in a sense.
Essentially,you're just managing a team of soldiers
and depending on where you go, differentbranches.
Different colors, different regiments,you have a different sized team.
So somewhere I am,because the logistics is a big, core,
the platoon or troop size.
Sorry, range from about 30 to 40 peoplethat you're managing.
(14:54):
But my friend who's gone to intelligence,for example, it's a team of ten.
So it really depends.
And as a result,you have different working relationship
because the working with peoplemore closely or less closely.
But now has been it's been good.
Yeah.
So you're in charge oflike 30 to 40 people.
Does that mean you're with them constantlyand you all travel together.
(15:15):
And what does that sort of look like.
What does that relationship look like.
so yeah.
So I've got my team. My treat.
And I thought that I would when Icame into the job, see them a lot more.
But it hasn't necessarily been the caseSo I work at somewhere called 17 quarter
Maritime Regiment,which is this corner of and sign here
and they are port operators in my troop.
(15:36):
But then you've got mariners downthere, you've got marine engineers but
VSS which is vehicle support specialists.
Everyone say supporting
because they've got such a niche skill setthat works down in that location.
Down in Madrid,it means that they're constantly deployed
on rotations.
we've also got to man or work workingport as well.
So we're down near Southampton.
(15:57):
people are always on the go.
And I think that's why it's suchan exciting place to work, because again,
you don't necessarily see all your teamor your soldiers all the time,
but you know what they're doing
this obviously ways of tracking themand seeing what people are doing.
people come back with really good storiesand the opportunity to travel both
for the soldiers, but also on the oppositeside of things, a troop commander.
They're so broad and so vast.So have you traveled?
(16:19):
So I've been quite lucky at my regiment.
I'm really grateful for the opportunitiesI presented me with.
So I joined my regiment January 2024.
So last year,and I had my first deployment in March
time, I believe, which was a port taskgroup or PCG for short and essentially
(16:40):
when you load
up a vessel with cash and equipment,vehicles and the like,
when you send off to another country,you need to make sure
you've got port operatorsto kind of take out. You'll often.
So quite often we have these pigs dottedacross the world and quite cool locations.
This one this time round was Estonia.
So we went down there for a week,which was really, really good fun.
(17:00):
And then I flew directly down to Poland.
So those are big exercises on uptimecalled Operation Land to type up.
And you had lots of different elements
of your army come togetherand essentially work on this big exercise.
17 port maritime rolewas essentially to get people home.
It was kind of the rounding offthe operation essentially, and making sure
(17:21):
people get home, that cat gets homein the right place, right time.
And then there was a lot of kitand equipment I can tell you about.
So that was really good, especiallybecause I was still so new in the job.
You know, you're given quite a largeamount of responsibility quite quickly.
Which is kind of nice.
I quite like that
they didn't throw you in the deep endbut there's always that support network.
But to kind of throwyou straight in straight away,
(17:42):
you kind of just, get to know everyoneso much better as a result.
So I'm very grateful for,after that, in about my time,
I went on something called OperationUnderhill.
this one was really exciting.
Because the idea behind it, andit was meant to be a real time operation,
the main reason we were doingis because we wanted to help the Americans
(18:02):
who were creating the pools at the time.
And in Gaza,we wanted to go and help deliver that aid.
So it was a humanitarian aid operation.
So we were working as an attachmentto the Royal Marines on something
called like an RFA vessel.
So the Royal Fleet Auxiliary,and we're working with them
essentially like creating this plan, onhow we would do that and how we would help
(18:24):
the Americans deliver this aid.
So super exciting to be kind of partof a real time planning process
with real time consequences toif if you did get things wrong.
So we had thingskind of planned and prepped, but
sometimes these things for sorryand that is what happened here.
So we didn't get sent home.
But to even just have like a snippet ofthat was so
(18:48):
unique and I'm so gratefulto have had that opportunity.
So those have kind of been my deployments.
But then on the sports side,I've also been quite lucky
because I joined the national team.
So you have regimental netball teams,which is like your unit
and then where you part for our rock.
So the logistics corps,so they have a core team as well.
(19:09):
So I was lucky enoughto kind of join in with them.
And they invited me down to Cape Townto do an Apple tour of two weeks,
which was incredible.
it wasn't my cause.
I didn't expect that to beall my full course events at all.
But when the opportunity came up,you know, my chain of command was
supportive and were like, yeah, it's fine.
And and so I went along and did that,which was fabulous.
(19:32):
So many other opportunities that the Armyhas with sports, adventures, training,
like I went to Norway in Francein December and January,
time to do a ski season,which again, absolutely incredible.
you can't believe thatit's your job in a way.
That that was new for me.
I've done a bit of skiing before,
but we were doing ski racing,so very different type of skiing.
(19:55):
Required a lot of courage.
Sending yourself down the slopes.
But the opportunities have been so broadand that's there's like a couple of them.
I know other people to have gone offto do things like sailing, rock climbing,
mountain biking,I think a lot of the time as well,
people don't realize that about the Army.
It's not all about work.Don't get me wrong.
that is the main kind of emphasis.
(20:15):
And the deployments,especially my regiment, because it is a
working regiment.
But there is always timefor those other things,
and it is still seenas something important,
because that's what buildsa three dimensional person, right?
So when you get deployed,do you have time to for yourself
you you have your work hours, but then areyou able to explore where you've landed
So I think it depends.
(20:36):
It depends on what you're going out to do.
So with the port task groupin Estonia, for example, we went out
and there's work to do.
But when you don't have work to do thenyeah, you can have a little explore around
the area.
But when we were in Poland, for example,Operation Monotype,
that was a lot more exercise focused. Yes.
You're in the mindset simulating that.
(20:57):
This is like the real thing.
So it's not quite the same.
So it's really situationdependent on whom.
so you're traveling a lotbut you also in a lot.
How often do you get leaveand to visit family.
So it's more than you'd expect.
And again it really depends onobviously the current climate
and what's going on within the regimentand tasking is coming through.
(21:19):
But I think there'sthis kind of stigma around the army
that you're always on the move,always, you know, never at home.
And don't get me wrong,sometimes that can be the case.
And it's very dependenton where you go with your career.
But it's not always the case.
I very much think that is a myth thatsometimes needs to be busted a little bit.
sometimes you've kind of gotlike a directed posting
(21:41):
where you have to go,based on certain circumstances,
that a lot of the timesome deployments can be voluntary based.
At least they are my regiment.
There always has to bethe places failed like bombs disease.
But there is that leeway there.
And there is still kind of a huge pushfor things like G1.
So your welfare, Don't get me wrong.
(22:03):
mission comes first, but if there's a waythat we can prioritize people's
welfare in their own family situations,then absolutely we will.
Yeah, but are there any other mythsthat you would like to bust?
don't know
because there's so many different mythsand different ways
it could be something is low levelas the fitness standards to me, the main
myth, I think sometimesI have to even bust with my own friends
(22:25):
is the general stereotype of British Armyversion soldier, British Army officer.
I'm like, who is it?
What do you think of when you hear that?
And I think when I've spoken to my friendsquite a few times, they picture
your infantry soldierwho is out on the ground
and they've got a weaponwith a bayonet fixed or,
you know, doing something supernaturally,which absolutely is the case.
(22:47):
And there are people who do that,and we all have that basic training
going through eitherSandhurst or soldier training.
But it's not always like that.
You know, people jump to it
thinking that'swhat you're doing all the time,
or you're always deployedand you're always away.
But actually there'sso much more to the Army.
There's all these different rolesyou can see that I mentioned.
(23:08):
Does these kind of more Stemfocused, backgrounds where essentially
you supportingthat infantry soldier. Right.
So mission critical, absolute.
They, they need to get things done.
But why would they do thatwithout the sustainment from logistics?
Why would they do thatwith the communications from the signals
where they do that with and and aspectsfrom like the Remi or the engineers.
(23:28):
So I think people can be varied.
And again, I, I say people, it'snot everyone,
but I'd saythe average person can be very narrow,
minded, narrow,focused on what the Army is about
and not actually know aboutall these other other kind of branches,
but also sports opportunities and exercisethat it is not all just that one thing.
(23:51):
what kind of skillswould you say you need for your role?
I think again, it's super varied.
It's dependent on the person.
And I guess me saying this now,
I mean, like the rest of thiskind of podcast interview,
it's all my opinion, right?
But I think the skill sets
you need to have, obviouslythere's an element of mental resilience
because you can get very busyvery quickly, or the kind of
(24:15):
it doesn't happen as often,but like fitness wise,
you need to make sure that you can pushthrough those kind of barriers.
The ultimate is just to make surethat when things do
get stressful, fast paced,you can sense really the team,
if you're not mentally,mentally resilient yourself,
how can you expect others to be so okay,so I think that's quite a big thing.
And I think as a officercommunication is super key as well.
(24:39):
I mean, it's key across the Armythat I think a lot of the times
I've seen it myselfwhere things aren't communicated properly
down, down or up the chain of command,and that's where things have gone wrong.
So I think you got to be confidentin yourself in that way.
And I haven't always beenthe most confident.
And there's something I would still say,being honest, I struggle with to this day
(25:00):
kind of backing yourself up,but I would say going through
the Sandhurst yearof training absolutely helped.
Because you realize how much potentialyou have.
But ultimately, for me personally,I would say the best thing
you can have,all the best skill is compassion.
I think empathyand having that emotional intelligence
is key, and being able to run and workalongside a team,
(25:24):
because if you can understandpeople's strengths and weaknesses,
you can utilize them in better ways.
Or like we said, with the deployments,you kind of know the situation
better and as a result,you've got a better working team.
As a result, you have better results.
And if you've got a team that works foryou, makes your life easier too.
And I always, alwaysI would say compassion is key.
So what advice would you give for peoplelooking to follow in your footsteps?
(25:48):
I think perseverance is a very big thing,especially in training,
because I'd say that goingthrough that training.
Yeah.
And I can't speak of how it isfor soldiers going through a
on an army officer kind of perspectivethat year.
Sandhurst is created to challenge.
and it is not reflective of whatthe wider only looks like,
(26:09):
because it's a lot more meticulouswith everything.
And they are.
That's challenge you and seewhat your mental resilience is like.
And are you someone who can kind of fit inwith the bigger team?
Right.
So I would say in those circumstances,even if you feel like, oh,
maybe this isn't for me, like thatis what they're testing you for there.
You're saying,can you get through those moments?
(26:30):
sense of personal growth,
and just like meetingsuch like minded people and I've got some.
Yeah.
Without sounding too cliche or whatever,got some fab friends out of it.
So it is all set in the end.
Just persevere and knowthat you're being tested for a reason.
what's been one of your biggest challengesso far.
I think one of the biggest challengesI faced in my role as a troop
(26:52):
commander was actually kindof my first few days
at the regiment, with my troop,because you're coming in
and people know that you're you're freshout of the Sandhurst factory, essentially,
and you want to have goodfirst impressions.
And there's a range of experiencein the troop.
You know, you've got peoplewho've been serving for their first year,
(27:14):
and then you've got peoplewho've been close to 20 years.
So coming in and trying to adjustto the kind of working patterns
they've got already,and kind of integrating into that team,
I think
was probably one of my biggest concernsbecause
I never wanted to ruffle any feathers.
So I think coming in, the mindsetI kind of just went in with was,
(27:35):
okay, well, I'm here to play my roleand they've all got their roles.
And yes,the Army has a sense of hierarchy,
which is absolute, that for good reason.
And, you know,everyone respects the hierarchy.
However, my approach was we are threepriority and you pay your power or talent.
And I found so farthat must be multiplied. Well
(27:55):
And finally, I do have a question
around the support that the Army offerin terms of mental health.
Is there something in place there.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think that there's a largerpush on this over
recent years in comparison to when my mumwent through in the 80s, for example.
Right.
a lot of organizations are included,as well as the importance of, championing
(28:16):
Mental health.
And we've got so many differentsupport schemes.
Whether you speak to the Padre orthe welfare team that we've got on site,
you've got like anonymous organizations,we've always got kind of posters up
and about whereif people don't really want to speak
with their, chain of command,which is encouraged,
but sometimes people are uncomfortablerather than there's means and ways of,
(28:38):
you know, getting that supportwithout people knowing
because everyone'scircumstance is different. Right.
I would say, you know,going through there's
definitely been that kind of supportstructure, that network, and
if you did need it, then you would kind ofhave pool selection to choose from.
So yeah, I think it's been good. Great.
So what's next in your career.
(28:58):
So I've recently just found outmy next postings.
So as an officeryour postings tend to change
about every two years, give or take.
So my two years it
I can't regiment coming to an endand I found out that I'm going to Perth.
Right.
So it's a training center for phaseone soldiers.
So brand new coming into the Armyand looking to start a career.
(29:19):
I'm very excited about that.
And again, super gratefulto being given such an opportunity
these peopleat the start of their careers.
And any influence I can have on themto kind of make their careers
or the start of their career is a positiveplace and have that perseverance
through somethingthat's quite challenging.
Perhaps the biggest challengethat you've ever faced?
I'm really excited to be part of thatjourney, I'm conscious that, you know,
(29:39):
I've been speaking aboutmy personal kind of journey for myself,
and I just want to say, obviously,these are my own opinions,
apart from the factson scholarships and bursaries.
But if people did want to know more,then there's like YouTube blogs online,
but also say I think the best sourceis the on the website because
the information there on the videos, atmost up to date and most factual amazing.
(30:04):
Well,thank you so much for your time today.
And thank you so much for having me here.
I think it's so nice to be ableto give representation on again.
It's my own personal opinionsand experience, but to kind of broadcast
these opportunities that the Army doeshave to offer and essentially
like not break the stigmas as such,but give further awareness.
And I'm really gratefulfor the opportunity.
(30:25):
So thank you.
Thanks again to Sophie for that time.
For more information on joining the Army,you can check out the show notes below.
For a full length video version
of this episode, check out our YouTubechannel at Future You Pod.
If you enjoyed the episode, do feel freeto leave us a review on Apple or Spotify.
Thank you, as always, for listening andgood luck on your journey to future. You.
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