STEPPING UP
ACF OFFICERS
GREG WAKELING: 29 Rank: 2nd Lieutenant Joined: 2013 County: Derbyshire Day job: insurance claims handler PRV RNK
OFFICER PROFILE
2LT GREG WAKELING reg Wakeling’s cadet journey began in the RAF section of his Nottingham school’s CCF contingent. “My dream from the age of six was to be a pilot in the air force,” the 29-year-old says. “I pursued it through school, but then, at 5 foot 4 at university, I realised I wasn’t going to get any taller. The RAF said I was too short to fly and it all came crashing down.” Greg left uni before finishing his degree – he’d enrolled in mechanical engineering with the air force in mind rather than for a love of the subject – and went to work at an insurance firm. He has now almost completed his qualifications as a chartered insurer while working full time handling claims for large businesses. “I became an adult volunteer four years ago. Part of it was the itch to get back into uniform, but I also wanted to give something back to the community. “I chose the ACF rather than the ATC because I’d always been jealous of the stuff that army cadets got to do. They got more opportunity
G
The following have been selected for a commission by CFCB
to get out in the field. I also think that the ACF caters for a group of young people who have a lot to gain from it.” Becoming an officer was at the back of his mind from the outset, but it was an idea that crystallised quickly as he realised that some of the things he wanted to achieve could only really be done from the officers’ mess. “I could see where I could put my skills to use fi xing problems if I was an officer, such as training and cutting out unnecessary bureaucracy.” Becoming an officer was nerve-racking, he says. “There was a risk that in going from PI to AUO to 2Lt that I would be seen as someone who had not done their time… but most of that challenge was in my head. I had great support from my colour sergeant and the SMI. “It is about defining the role of officer and NCO and understanding the different jobs. As an officer you don’t have to have all the green skills; it’s your job to support the people who have those skills and to make sure that the kids and the kit that they need are in the right place.”
SURNAME
INITIAL
COUNTY/BATTALION/SECTOR
SMI
HARRISON
ST
2ND NORTHERN IRELAND BN ACF
SMI
SANGSTER
RI
BLACK WATCH BN ACF
AUO
BALD
DJ
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ACF
SI
MURAT
DB
CAMBRIDGESHIRE ACF
AUO
JONES
DL
CLWYD AND GWYNEDD ACF
AUO
WILKINSON
ID
CORNWALL ACF
SSI
FARRER
S
CUMBRIA ACF
AUO
GODWIN
SJ
DEVON ACF
AUO
TAYLOR
JM
DORSET ACF
AUO
MEASEY
M
DYFED AND GLAMORGAN ACF
AUO
SMITH
K
GWENT AND POWYS ACF
SI
LINTOTT
RJ
HAMPSHIRE AND IOW ACF
UO
MIDDLETON
XW
HEREFORD AND WORCESTER ACF
SI
PINCOMBE
ES
LEICESTER, NORTHANTS AND RUTLAND ACF
AUO
DAVIES
A
LINCOLNSHIRE ACF
AUO
SHAW
S
LINCOLNSHIRE ACF
AUO
WRIGHT
C
LINCOLNSHIRE ACF
SSI
DEIGHAN
RWI
LOTHIAN AND BORDERS BN ACF
SI
KONTOGIANNI
M
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ACF
SSI
ALDEN
NS
SURREY ACF
SMI
CLARKE
MR
WARWICKSHIRE AND WEST MIDLAND (SOUTH SECTOR) ACF
AUO
COOK
PJ
WARWICKSHIRE AND WEST MIDLAND (SOUTH SECTOR) ACF
AUO
TAYLOR
GR
WARWICKSHIRE AND WEST MIDLAND (SOUTH SECTOR) ACF
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