The Army Bloke

How do you actually become an officer in the Royal Marines? How hard is the training? What does it take to be successful? Sam, who spent 13 years as a Royal Marines officer and left as a major, with Afghanistan and Iraq deployments behind him, tells us about his journey. We start with the reality of Royal Marines officer selection: why people fail POC, what changes when you stop trying to look “re...

The fastest way to lose the “this is an adventure” mindset is to watch reality arrive with consequences. We start with that switch: days into a deployment to Basra, Iraq, a Lynx helicopter is shot down over the city, and the scale of danger becomes impossible to ignore. From there, we get into what it really feels like to put boots on the ground, step out of the gate, and carry the expectation tha...

A midnight knock on the steps, a simple order, and suddenly you’re walking into a mud compound to arrest a Taliban suspect. Johnny’s account of that night in Helmand Province is raw, human, and strangely instructional: cultural understanding is not a buzzword, it’s a capability that can calm fear, protect standards, and change the temperature of a whole area. We go back to the beginning too, from...

You can say you want the Parachute Regiment in one sentence. Earning the trust to lead in it takes years, and it starts with the part you can’t talk your way around: the standard you can prove on the day. Our guest, Thomo, is a serving British Army Major with 15 years in the Parachute Regiment, and he’s frank about what selection, P Company, and battalion life actually demand from officers who wan...

Most people imagine the Army Reserve as a light commitment and a bit of adventure on the side. The truth is sharper: it is leadership in compressed time, service with real trade-offs, and a second career you have to actively manage. We sit down with Major Ash Bardwaj to unpack what Reserve life actually looks like when you are also building a civilian career as a travel journalist, defence journal...

Number 10 calls, and suddenly you’re standing in a hangar full of drones with seven and a half minutes to question the Prime Minister one-on-one. That moment is where confidence and imposter syndrome collide, and it kicks off a wider reflection on what it really means to back yourself as a leader when the stakes rise and the room gets senior fast. We trace the story back to March 2020, when a lock...

You can pass every test at Sandhurst and still hit the real shock on day one of troop command: sometimes you simply do not have the answer. I sit down with Major Catherine Henderson, a serving Royal Signals officer with a seriously varied career, to talk about what leadership looks like when the textbook ends and your soldiers need you to be steady, human, and useful. We walk through her journey f...

One moment you’re pushing a team over a high pass in Nepal, the next you’re struggling to breathe and waiting on a helicopter because your lungs are filling with fluid. That’s where Major Tori Allison takes us, and it’s only one part of a bigger story about British Army leadership, resilience, and the quiet competence that keeps people safe. We start at the beginning: choosing the Army at 14 with...

The moment you realise it is not “a big adventure” anymore can arrive fast: a new job title, a live threat, and soldiers looking at you for decisions you did not expect to be making. I sit down with Owain Mulligan, a reservist officer whose winding path through a gap year commission, the OTC, and the Army Reserve turns into operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and a career shaped by responsib...

The fastest way to spot shaky leadership is to watch what happens when people are cold, tired, and under pressure. That’s where the real habits show up, for better or worse. We sit down with Ollie, a former British Army major with 20 years’ service, to unpack what actually builds strong junior leaders from Sandhurst onwards. He shares blunt lessons from RoCo, why “negative motivation” collapses fa...

Plans fail. People freeze. Information is incomplete. That’s when leadership stops being a theory and becomes a decision.  I sit down with Paul Nanson, former Infantry Officer, Major General, and a previous commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, to talk about what actually holds a team together when the night does not go to plan. We start at the beginning: why he joined, what Sandhurs...

We talk with David Hymarsh about what the Army Professionally Qualified Officer route really looks like for doctors, from AOSB and Sandhurst to phase two training and life in unit. We pull out the leadership lessons that matter most: humility, speaking to your audience, leaning on experienced NCOs and taking mental health seriously.  • How AOSB feels for medical students • What the short Sandhurst...

We explore how the Army Officer Selection Board truly works, why potential beats pedigree, and how authenticity, fitness, and feedback shape success. Jim shares lessons from Sandhurst, early command, operations in Northern Ireland and Iraq, and his vantage point as an AOSB Vice President. • selection focused on potential not polish • myths about “classic officer” backgrounds challenged • sandhurst...

The first step onto the parade square feels like stepping into a myth. Then the kit list hits, the pace spikes, and you realise leadership is a team sport. Dan sits down with Robin White—infantry officer, veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and former Sandhurst company commander—to pull back the curtain on what actually makes a good officer when the plan breaks, the radios crackle, and you’re on the...

Across 24 years in the infantry—from Northern Ireland to Iraq, and five tours in Afghanistan—Steve Armon learned to lead where it counts: under pressure, with people who need you to get it right. Steve walks us through the real journey from private to regimental sergeant major and the gritty lessons that stick. The result is a candid guide for young officers and NCOs who want to earn trust, fight...

Former Army Commando Officer & Minister for Veterans Affairs Johnny Mercer joins me for an honest, unfiltered conversation about war, leadership, and what really shapes you as a young officer. From passing the Commando Course to surviving Taliban contact after being split from his patrol, this episode goes deep into the reality of soldiering. We discuss: Why Johnny joined the British Army Comp...

In this episode, I sit down with Sam Perrin — former Infantry Platoon Commander and later a Special Forces Officer — to break down the reality of leadership, officer training, and operating on the front line. We cover everything future officers need to understand before AOSB, Sandhurst, or stepping into a platoon for the first time: 🔹 His AOSB experience and early leadership lessons 🔹 What Sandh...

🎙 Lessons in Leadership – Episode 1 In this first episode, I sit down with Harry Mackarness, a former British Army Officer who commissioned into the Paras, had to transfer to the Light Dragoons, and has since become a voice for resilience and mental health. We talk about: • Why he joined the Army • The reality of training at Sandhurst and Catterick • What it means to lead soldiers today • How inju...