Jo joined the British Army in 1995 and served for 24 years in the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC), reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt).

In this episode, Jo talks about joining up and going through training, which was during the terrible times at Deepcut, but after getting through this part of training, she moved onto the famous driver training school, being the Defence School of Transport (DST) Leconfield. She shares being part of multiple regiments, which included tours of Northern Ireland. Jo gets chosen to be the driver for the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, where she had many encounters with the Queen and the wider Royal Family.

Jo moves away from the driver duties for the Royal Family and goes back to regiment life, where she completes a deployment to Afghanistan. Upon her return from the tour, she battles an ongoing knee injury and her mental health. Jo finds new ambition through sport and trialled out for the Invictus Games, being selected for London 2014 and Toronto 2017. She was also selected for the U.S. Air Force Warrior Games Trials 2015, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Across these games, Jo saw success with medalling in multiple sports and events.

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Part 1 & Part 2

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Full Episode: Ep 028 - Sgt Joe O'Connor - British Army Veteran.

In this Viewpoint: Joe talks about wanting to challenge himself, away from the Royal Engineers, and in 1999 went on Special Forces Selection. During training with the SF team, late at night with bad weather and visibility, Joe gets taken to hospital after being blown off the side of a cliff, which ended up breaking his neck.

He shares the challenges he faced to rebuild his life after this life changing incident, before leaving the military and becoming a veteran in civilian life, where he has managed to continue his success in the financial industry.

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Part 1: youtu.be/7VAeBpLs_QY

Part 2: youtu.be/dv6Skhyhfcs

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Ian joined the Royal Navy in 1975, and served for 16 years as part of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), reaching the rank of Leading Aircraft Engineering Mechanic (Weapons Electrical) (LAEM(WL)).

In this episode Ian talks about his journey in joining the Royal Navy, and what it was like being one of the last courses to go through basic training, at HMS Ganges. He also shares some insights into life at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron), and deploying on HMS Sirius (F40).

Ian also discusses what it was like preparing some of the Navy’s aircraft for the Falklands War, prior to being stood down himself, and not deploying. He moves to RNAS Portland (HMS Osprey), before being deployed on HMS Glasgow (D88). After this deployment and attending career courses, he spends some time as part of an Aircraft Maintenance Group (AMG), before seeing out his last 6 months within Edinburgh's Careers Office.

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Part 1: youtu.be/ROIBj3zsmFk

Part 2: youtu.be/KgEbaiYKVbE

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Full Episode: Ep 027 - Lt Tom Moore from 10th August 2022.

In this Viewpoint: Tom talks how the end of his career came to be, and how this was difficult for him to come to terms with, causing him to be depressed. However, through help, he came to terms with it all and tackled his thoughts to move back to civilian life...which included leave without pay.

This was a challenge to get a new job, away from the military, but he pursued in these next steps in life and took on jobs he didn't enjoy, but these were the stepping stones to co-founding a company called With You With Me. This company helps others find the right job, which includes the veteran community.

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Part 2: youtu.be/VlbMmzaoJT0

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Tony joined the British Army in 1995, as a Probationary 2nd Lieutenant on a Short Service Limited Commission, and later joined both the Regular and Reserve services. He served a total of 19 years, reaching the rank of Major (Maj).

In this episode Tony talks about growing up and his ambition to join the British Army, sharing his journey with courses at Sandhurst on multiple occasions, and being part of Regular Army units as an officer. This included over seeing tasks for the 2001 country wide epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease, before seeing the impact of 9/11, and as a result deploying to Iraq.

Tony shares his deployment to Iraq and the return home, which included his transfer to the Army Reserves. Whilst carrying out his duties as part of the Army Reserves at home in the UK, he moved to the Philippines and worked with the British Embassy, and then later worked alongside the British Army in Afghanistan as the chief of operations in a civilian contractor capacity. After leaving the British Army he found a role with the charity Walking With The Wounded.

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Part 1: youtu.be/99wbqzVWC9M

Part 2: youtu.be/5elzVly52vA

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Full Episode: Ep 026 - SNO Sue Warner from 10th July 2022.

In this Viewpoint: Sue talks about returning from Afghanistan and needing to take a career break, due to a tough period in her life, and after this break she returned to nursing.

Sue also shares how sport has helped her recovery, with the support of Help for Heroes. Plus during the crazy times of COVID-19, she stepped forward and used her nursing skills to help others.

Lastly, she gives some great advice for people thinking of joining the military, and more great advice for people about to leave and become a veteran.

Watch Full Episode on YouTube:
Part 1: youtu.be/0dcxvK80ACE

Part 2: youtu.be/RlnW-yMjs4s

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Gary joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery (RA) in the British Army twice, once in 1999 and again in 2004. He served for 12 years in total, reaching the rank of Bombardier (Bdr).

In this episode Gary talks about his journey in joining the British Army, and why he left and then rejoined a few years later. He shares his time completing many courses, which prepared him for operational tours of Iraq and 2 deployments to Afghanistan. These tours saw him be part of a Close Protection Team, a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), and be a Forward Observer.

During Gary’s 2nd operational tour to Afghanistan, he was part of a mission, which sadly lost a life of a team member. During this event, Gary consciously risked his life, on three separate occasions, and it was a miracle he himself was not killed. For his actions on this day, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC), second only to the Victoria Cross (VC).
After this tour, he suffered a shoulder and leg injury, which meant his career was cut short. However, he set new goals with recurve archery (a sport he’s excelled in from a young age), and took on the challenge of being part of the inaugural Invictus Games in London 2014, where he won Team Gold and Individual Silver.

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Part 1: youtu.be/sGeuhXiGb4s

Part 2: youtu.be/G-MCt9vQaBw

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Welcome to “Real People, Real Life”, a podcast where we dive into the authentic...

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Full Episode: Ep 025 - Cpl Barney Gillespie from 10th June 2022.

In this Viewpoint: Barney shares his journey after leaving hospital and going through rehabilitation, since his incident with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). There were darks days, but he battled through, learning how to use his new prosthetic leg.

With his new mindset, he managed to set new goals and challenges, including taking part in the Sydney 2018 Invictus Games, the Dakar Rally, and becoming an Army Cadet Instructor.

Watch Full Episode on YouTube:
Part 1: youtu.be/KQUsmTFWcD8

Part 2: youtu.be/qHO1WA5_R0I

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