Telling employers why reservists make good employees

Few modern military operations could take place without the use of reservists; as part of the drive to gain employer support for the release of their workers, the MoD’s Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers (SaBRE) campaign explains the benefits that militarily experienced staff bring them...

Few modern military operations could take place without the use of reservists; as part of the drive to gain employer support for the release of their workers, the MoD’s Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers (SaBRE) campaign explains the benefits that militarily experienced staff bring them

Part one of the mission was to enter Iraq with a team of US Marines, seize an oil refinery and shut it down before Saddam Hussein could destroy it. Part two was to get it up and running again.

‘Az Zubayr was deemed the crown jewels of the Ramalla oil fields of southern Iraq, because the supplies from the whole region fed into it,’ says Robert Spears, one of the British soldiers involved. ‘If we could take it intact, then we could save the whole lot. But if we didn’t, and Saddam decided to take it out, it would have taken years for the fires to be put out. The oil fires of the first Gulf War would have been nothing by comparison.

‘They told us not to get involved in the fighting unless absolutely necessary, but we were only about 60 yards behind the troops as they went in. They also split us up so that if anything happened to one of us, the rest could carry on. Luckily, Saddam decided to try and defend the thing rather than give it up for lost and blow it as we arrived. There were some skirmishes to start with, but that was about it.’

It is a huge tribute to the courage and skills of Britain’s reservists that this extraordinary mission was carried out not by regular soldiers but by a hand-picked team of Territorial Army engineers. It is a classic example of the scores of stories now emerging from Iraq about the biggest call-up since Suez.

For potential employers, as much as employees, it spells out a powerful message: the skills learnt through military training – such as leadership, initiative, authority, knowledge and resourcefulness – are as valuable in the workplace as they are in a war zone.

‘You need people with a mixture of skills. On one hand, you couldn’t do without people with commercial experience. But on the other, you can’t bring ordinary contractors into a war zone. As TA soldiers, we were just about right,’ says Spears, who as a civilian works for BP at its refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland.

‘Once we were in there we actually felt quite relaxed because it’s our natural environment of work. Although it’s a big place, it wasn’t a patch on the size of Grangemouth, which is the biggest refinery in western Europe. After that anything else seemed easy.’

Ian Hammond works for Network Rail as an electrical control room operator, but is also a Sergeant Major in the TA’s 507th Specialist Team Royal Engineers and helped get Iraq’s rail network running again after it was badly damaged during the war.

‘My job was to run the team and ensure that the tasks we were given were finished to a satisfactory standard and within time,’ he says. ‘It has been a fantastic experience – you always train for this kind of thing, but training only goes so far. It’s also given me human management skills that I wouldn’t get in my job at home.’

Neil Cater normally works as a senior business analyst and project manager for Ford Credit. His skills – and support from Ford – meant he was able to leave in the middle of a major project at work to set up a software system to help keep track of British troops. ‘The Army is terrific for teaching you management and on-the-spot training skills, which I use back home. But you also learn about resilience, how to get a job done no matter what, even if your office just consists of a laptop stuck on top of a rucksack.’

Julie Walter has a day job as an accounts manager for Getty Images, selling pictures to media around the world. She was called up to the Gulf as a military accountant and clerk.

‘My employer has been superb, very supportive and understanding. You get a much better outlook on things. Not only do you learn specific things like spreadsheet skills, computer skills, and presentational skills, you also have to be organised and focused when you are living in the field, as your whole life depends on it.

‘If you don’t know where your rifle is or your respirator is, you endanger your own life and also the lives of your colleagues, and you take a lot of those qualities back when you return to civilian life. People should realise that the TA is not just a boys’ club, or a weekend jolly – you learn real things for real life.’

For more information visit www.sabre.mod.uk