‘In terms of diversity of adventure, it’s excellent’
Captain Chris Finbow, 34, was a chemistry teacher at a secondary school near Bury St Edmonds when he joined the army reserves in 2007. He admits he did so because he wanted to deploy to Afghanistan, which he did five years later.
“It was everything I wanted it to be and more,” he says. “I was immediately welcomed by my regular [army] peers and made to feel part of the team.”
As well as patrolling in Afghanistan – where temperatures exceeded 50C (122F) – Finbow has been to Cyprus on a peacekeeping mission, delivered tactical training to the Nigerian army and is about to deploy to Kenya. He also spent two years with the Canadian reserves and went on exercises in the Arctic Circle, where temperatures fell as low as -62C (-79.6F).
“I’m quite proud of that,” he says. “That’s a 100C (212F) swing between Afghanistan and Canada. I don’t know if I operated [well], but I stayed alive.”
It’s these opportunities that Finbow says have made the army reserves a unique place to work, so much so that he has left his teaching career behind and is now a full-time reservist.
However, his background as a teacher has been useful to his work as an officer. “There are certainly similarities there. It’s about being personable and able to communicate to a variety of people on different levels in order to achieve common goals.
“When I look back, the reserves have given me the platform to go and do different things. In terms of diversity of adventure, it’s excellent.”
‘There’s nothing in the army reserve that the average person can’t do’
Lieutenant Anna Campbell, 26, admits she didn’t come from a military family but joined the cadets while she was at school. She then moved up to the Officer Training Corps (OTC) while she was studying at the University of Aberdeen, and joined the army reserves as part of the Royal Artillery in 2008.
“It was the first time I’d been in contact with soldiers – that was the biggest life experience [for me]. You’re working with people from very diverse backgrounds. [That’s] definitely something that has made me the confident person that I am today.”
As a civilian, Campbell works as a recruitment consultant in Newcastle and commits a minimum of 27 days a year with the army reserves. That time is usually spread over Tuesday evenings and one or two weekends a month.
She went to Afghanistan in 2014, has trained in California and Israel, skied in France and visited Gallipoli in Turkey. She has also represented the army twice in a 125-mile canoe race from Devizes in Wiltshire to London, and admits that the reserves can feel like she’s leading a double life. “[My family and friends] are always amazed by the adventures I go on,” she says.
When asked what type of person does best in the reserves, Campbell says that a can-do attitude is key. “There’s nothing in the army reserve that the average person can’t do, it’s just the attitude you come with. I think the biggest challenge is time. It’s a bit of a juggling act sometimes, but my civilian life has to come first and [that’s] definitely understood by the reserves.”
‘I feel proud to wear the uniform’
Captain Lara Small, 31, says that while a lot of people feel apprehensive about being in the army reserves because they’ll be “shouted at and made to run around, you only have to do that a little bit”.
Small studied aerospace manufacturing engineering at Bristol, and joined the reserves in 2005 at the university’s fresher’s fair. Today, she works for Rolls Royce in Derby as the leader of a manufacturing team.
She recently qualified as a defence engineer search adviser, learning to predict where the enemy might attack or place IEDs (improvised explosive devices), after taking a seven-week course. “I was able to get the time off work – they were really supportive,” she says.
Usually, Small says she doesn’t find it difficult to fit training around her civilian life, although she admits that there are “definitely times when you’d rather come home and slump in front of the TV”.
Most of the time, training is fun – her last weekend away involved mountain biking, kayaking and climbing. A self-confessed adrenaline junkie, Small is an avid motorcyclist who races with the British army team, has skydived in Florida, learned how to ski with the army in Austria, and tried skeleton bobsleigh in Germany.
“It can be difficult when you sacrifice other plans or you need to prepare for the weekends,” she adds. “But it’s worth it in the end. You meet a lot of like-minded individuals who are willing to give up their free time to do something collective on behalf of [the country]. I still feel proud to wear the uniform.”
‘The training is always more daunting than it actually is’
Major Naveed Muhammad, 47, finds it difficult to pick out a highlight from 29 years with the army reserves, but admits that going to Buckingham Palace to receive his MBE is a contender.
He joined the cadet force when he was 14 years old after his family moved to the UK from Kenya. Later, he joined the Royal Signals to train as a communications systems operator, and built a civilian career in engineering and telecommunications.
When asked about the training, Muhammad is reassuring: “It’s always more daunting than it actually is. The key thing to bear in mind is that training is there to be achieved, not to defeat people.
“I think there are very few restrictions for people looking for a career in the army reserves. There are hundreds of jobs open to people from every type of background.”
His first deployment was to the former Yugoslavia, and subsequent operations that stand out include Iraq in 2003, and an expedition to the Himalayas. Muhammad became a full-time reservist in 2008 and has just become the army’s national liaison officer, working to improve the diversity of the service.
“It’s about making the environment inclusive – making sure there are provisions for prayer, for diet, for people who have different requirements when it comes to appearance,” he says.
“Regardless of your background, regardless of your religion, regardless of the colour of your skin, the army reserves has a place for you.”
