I live in the UK with my wife and 2 children (and 2 dogs), I'm originally from Toronto, Canada where I spent my youth taking apart anything I could get my hands on. When I wasn’t angering parents dismantling newly bought toys, I played ice hockey (eventually getting an open scholarship in grade 10) and loving the outdoors, eventually becoming a canoeing and kayaking instructor and canoe tripper.
I joined the Canadian Armed Forced (Army) at 17 as an infantry reservist while finishing high school and going to college. During that time, I was promoted to Corporal and eventually become an instructor. I then spent a few years as a section commander of 6 to 10 soldiers during the academic year and then was an instructor during the summer months while the battle schools took place around the country.
After I left college, my unit offered me the opportunity to take an aerial deliver rigger course at the ADTC (Aerial Delivery Training Centre) within the Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre (now call the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre). After completing the course at the top of the class, I was offered a full-time position with the local air movement squadron but working at the ADTC rigging training loads for their pilots.
This turned out to be my calling.
I enjoyed the math and physic involved, and the problem solving required. I was rigging everything from jerry cans weighing 50kg to heavy loads (sometimes vehicles) weighing up to 6000kg. After doing this a few years, I became involved in teaching on the new classes coming into the training centre and eventually, as my workloads increased, I was tasked with training “untrained privates" (soldiers that have passed basic training but are waiting for their trade courses)” to be aerial delivery riggers to assist me.
As I became more experienced, I was able to get loaded onto a Helicopter Operations course, which was more math and physics, which I loved. I continued my development when I was also one of the ONLY Corporals permitted onto the Drop Zone/Land Zone Controller course which has a minimum rank restriction, qualifying me to not only scout, plot and register parachute drop zone and aircraft landing zones, but call in and marshal aircraft for airborne operations. After that, my time was split between building the cargo loads and calling them in as LVAD (low velocity air drop) airdrops on the dropzone.
For my last year at the school I was attached to the school's Airborne Trials and Evaluations Section (ATES) which develops, tests and evaluates all equipment related to airborne and air transport operations in support of the Army. These trials range from parachutes and helmets to procedures and materials for rigging of AirDrop or Air Transportable equipment. ATES also receives tasks to support trials for Air Force and SAR TECH equipment.
I left my military career when I moved to the UK, for what was planned to be a short trip, but when it was clear that it was going to be a more permanent move, I looked for the opportunity to follow my passion in engineering and go to university.
One of my claims to success was bringing back the Brighton Engineering Society to one of the largest in the university. The society is a student led group that organises trips, engineering challenges, and socials.
