The Great Guns Podcast

On this episode of The Great Guns Podcast, host James Scott sits down with former Metropolitan Police detective Gary Ayton to talk about policing, retirement, identity, trauma and what really happens when a career that has shaped decades of your life suddenly comes to an end.

Gary served for 30 years with the Metropolitan Police.

He didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a police officer. In fact, policing was almost accidental.

After choosing the wrong A Levels, struggling with science and abandoning an earlier ambition to become a doctor, Gary followed a suggestion from his father and applied to the police.

Two years later, he found himself at Hendon wondering:

“What am I doing here?”

He stayed for three decades.

During that career, Gary moved into the Criminal Investigation Department, worked as a detective and witnessed enormous changes in policing — from typewriters and life before mobile phones to an environment where almost every incident can now be recorded, uploaded and scrutinised within seconds.

But after 30 years, walking away from policing proved to be a transition of its own.

Gary initially continued working within the policing world as a civilian contractor and later as a trainer with the College of Policing, working with investigators and policing professionals around the world.

Yet even with that familiar environment around him, something had changed.

He was no longer a police officer.

No warrant card.

No power of arrest.

No familiar structure.

And, ultimately, responsibility for what came next rested with him.

James and Gary explore why that psychological transition is often overlooked, why finances and finding another job are only part of the picture and why preparing for life after service needs to begin before your final day.

Gary also speaks openly about the delayed impact of some of the things he experienced during his policing career, including his involvement in identifying British victims following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Those experiences, along with his own difficult transition, eventually helped shape the Police Transition Academy — a programme designed to help serving and former police personnel prepare for the wider reality of leaving policing.

This is a conversation about identity, preparation, health and moving forward when one of the biggest chapters of your life comes to an end.

• Leaving policing is about far more than finding another job.
• Financial planning matters, but identity and mindset can be even harder to navigate.
• You may not know how leaving will affect you until you're actually out.
• The longer you've served, the more deeply the role may have become part of your identity.
• Prepare for the psychological impact of leaving, not just the financial one.
• Start planning before your final day whenever possible.
• Family dynamics can change once shift work and operational demands disappear.
• Losing responsibility, status and routine can leave people questioning where they now fit.
• Your policing skills are transferable far beyond another police-related role.
• Returning immediately to police-type work may feel comfortable, but it isn't necessarily what you actually want.
• Exposure to difficult incidents can affect people years after the event.
• Asking for professional support is important when experiences go beyond what peers or coaches can safely help with.
• Transition support needs to consider the whole person, not simply CVs and job applications.
• Structure can reduce the feeling of being lost after leaving.
• Writing things down can help turn thoughts into something tangible.
• Don't wait until after leaving to think about what comes next.
• Your health needs to come before the next job.
• Moving forward doesn't mean dismissing your years of service — it means building on them.
• Helping someone prepare is often about giving them tools rather than promising an outcome.

“My mindset changed from: you're not a cop now.”

“You are in a world where you're responsible for yourself.”

“That mindset change is the most difficult thing.”

“Had I been able to go backwards, I'd have said: six months before I retire, get a plan together.”

“It doesn't hit them till they're out.”

“Who am I now?”

“If you can prepare people for what is coming, they're better able to deal with it.”

“I've been there. Here's some advice for you. This is how you move on.”

“Health first.”

“Create a plan.”

“Move forward. Don't look back.”

“Write stuff down.”

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Police Transition Academy

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On this episode of The Great Guns Podcast, host James Scott sits down with former Royal Air Force servicewoman, leadership coach and business owner Louisa Clarke to talk about transition, identity, mental health, values, leadership and what it really means to build a successful life after service.

Louisa joined the Royal Air Force in 1996 after discovering the Air Cadets as a teenager.

Coming from a difficult period at school, cadets gave her something she hadn't found elsewhere — belonging, discipline, teamwork and a sense of direction.

At 18, she joined the RAF as a movements controller, helping move personnel and equipment around the world by air, road and rail. Over the next 10 years, she worked with aircraft including the Hercules, VC10, TriStar and C17, spending time in Germany and the Falklands along the way.

For the most part, Louisa remembers those years fondly.

But the end of her military career was very different.

After the birth of her son, Louisa experienced postnatal depression at a time when, in her experience, the support simply wasn't there. Despite having recently received a commendation and being well placed for promotion, she eventually left the RAF with no resettlement and very little sense of what came next.

She describes it simply:

She fell out of the Air Force.

What followed was not the end of her career.

It was the beginning of several reinventions.

Louisa moved into facilities management almost by accident and went on to spend around 18 years in the sector, progressing from contracts manager to managing director and helping grow a portfolio from one million to 100 million.

She later retrained as a coach, set up her own business and, together with Simone Fenton-Jarvis, created The Human Centric Workplace — a leadership development organisation focused on helping leaders create better, more supportive places to work.

James and Louisa explore why service leavers should never assume their military role defines what they can do next, the importance of values alignment, why networking matters, and why veterans must take some responsibility for creating their own opportunities.

They also discuss facilities management as a career for the wider service community, the importance of celebrating veterans who are thriving after service, and Louisa's belief that you can reset, restart and build something completely different whenever life demands it.

This is a conversation about leaving one identity behind, recognising your real value and having the confidence to choose what comes next.

• Military service can give you belonging, confidence and direction — but it should never become the only thing that defines you.
• A difficult transition does not determine the rest of your life.
• Mental health support has a major role to play in how people experience leaving service.
• You can rebuild, reset and start again more than once.
• Don't automatically fall into a civilian career simply because it looks similar to what you did in uniform.
• Take time to understand what genuinely motivates you.
• Values alignment can help you work out why some roles feel right and others don't.
• You are capable of far more than the title or trade you held in the military.
• Learn how to translate military experience into civilian language.
• Facilities management can be a strong career option for service leavers, veterans, reservists and military families.
• Networking opens doors — sometimes long after the original conversation.
• Seek out veterans already working in the industry or organisation you want to join.
• Don't undersell yourself when you leave service.
• Use the resettlement support available, but also take responsibility for creating your own opportunities.
• A coach, mentor or trusted person can help you think out loud when you're struggling to work out what comes next.
• Veterans are often extremely willing to help the next person along.
• Success after service deserves to be celebrated, not hidden.
• Community and belonging remain important long after the uniform comes off.
• You can build a career around what you genuinely want rather than simply following the crowd.

“I literally fell out of the Air Force.”

“You can reset yourself at any point.”

“Do not undersell yourself.”

“The skills, the training, the experience — everything you've got from service is going to set you up brilliantly for the world ahead.”

“You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.”

“What does drive me? What's going to get me out of bed in the morning?”

“You can reset and restart.”

“It's your responsibility to do the work.”

“We're like the biggest club in the world.”

“Your network is your net worth.”

“Networking opens the doors.”

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Veterans Can

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On this episode of The Great Guns Podcast, host James Scott sits down with former Royal Signals Regimental Sergeant Major Andy Moss to talk about transition, leadership, resettlement, entrepreneurship and the importance of understanding what you actually want from life after service.

Andy joined the British Army in 1995 with a childhood ambition to serve. What followed was a career of more than two decades that took him from the Royal Signals through training, bomb disposal support and university officer training, before eventually achieving the goal he'd set himself as a young soldier — becoming a Regimental Sergeant Major.

But reaching that goal presented Andy with another question:

What next?

Rather than staying simply because he could, Andy made the decision to leave while he still had the energy and ambition to build a second career.

What followed wasn't a perfectly mapped-out journey.

Andy talks openly about not knowing exactly what he wanted to do, attending countless insight days, building a network, finding mentors and deliberately putting himself into situations where opportunities might appear.

One of those days was with Thames Water.

Andy nearly didn't attend.

That decision ultimately led to his first civilian job.

Since then, his journey has taken him through operations management, defence consultancy, organisational development within the NHS and eventually into running his own leadership consultancy, Oakbridge.

Throughout the conversation, one message repeatedly comes through:

Nobody is going to care about your transition as much as you do.

James and Andy discuss why service leavers need to prioritise themselves, why narrowing down what you actually want can be more powerful than keeping every door open, the importance of mentorship and why the skills you've developed in uniform shouldn't dictate what you do next.

They also explore leadership beyond rank, accountability, entrepreneurship and Andy's belief that we should all understand the values and standards we are personally prepared to stand for.

This is a conversation about leaving well, backing yourself and finding your next North Star.

• Transition needs to become a priority before your final day in uniform.
• Create a resettlement plan and share it with your chain of command.
• Don't continue behaving as though you're chasing promotion when you've already decided to leave.
• Take advantage of the resettlement support, funding, courses and insight days available to you.
• Do something towards your transition every day.
• Go to events even when you don't think they're directly relevant — opportunities can appear where you least expect them.
• Build your network before you need it.
• Find a mentor who can challenge your thinking and help you see opportunities differently.
• Don't try to sell yourself as four different things at once.
• Work out what you actually want to do and then go deep.
• Understand what a civilian role really involves before deciding it's right for you.
• Your first job after service doesn't have to be your forever job.
• Leadership is still leadership outside the military — but the way you lead may need to change.
• Accountability doesn't require authoritarian leadership.
• Don't be afraid of entrepreneurship or starting something of your own.
• Your second career doesn't have to look like everybody else's.
• Think about the life you want first and then build work around it.
• The Army's values may have shaped you, but you also need to understand your own personal values.
• Ask yourself what you stand for, what you cannot ignore and what is non-negotiable.
• The standards you accept ultimately help define the culture around you.

"The best thing I ever did was joining the Army. The second best thing I ever did was leaving when I did."

"You've got to make a conscious decision that you're crossing a line where you now need to prioritise you."

"My mantra was: do something every day."

"Go to them all. Even if you just take one thing away, it's worth doing."

"Everybody that leaves the Armed Forces should find themselves a mentor."

"Really understand what it is you want to be.""People are people. Leading people is leading people."

"Build your work around your life, not your life around your work."

"What do I stand for? What are my non-negotiables? What can't I ignore?"

"The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."

One of the practical tools Andy shares in the episode is something he calls the Moss Matrix.

Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four sections.

Think about the roles and responsibilities during your military career that you genuinely enjoyed.

Was it:

• Training?
• Leading teams?
• Operations?
• Planning?
• Working outdoors?
• Developing people?

Be equally honest about the jobs that drained you.

Understanding what you don't want can be just as useful as knowing what you do.

Consider what actually drives you.

That might include:

• Helping people
• Working as part of a team
• Independence
• Adventure
• Family time
• Flexibility
• Creating something
• Learning

Money might be important — but is it genuinely what motivates you?

What environments, responsibilities or ways of working do you want to avoid?

Then start mapping possible civilian careers against those four areas.

The objective isn't simply to find a job.

It's to get closer to understanding what kind of work actually fits the person you are now.

Towards the end of the conversation, Andy raises another important question.

The Armed Forces give you values and standards to live by.

But what happens when you leave?

Andy encourages people to ask themselves:

What do I stand for?

What can't I ignore?

What are my non-negotiables?

Military service may influence those answers, but your personal ethos should belong to you.

Understanding that can provide another North Star when rank, uniform and military structure are no longer there to provide one.

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TEDx Talk

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#BritishArmy #RoyalSignals #LifeAfterService

On this episode of The Great Guns Podcast, host James Scott sits down with Army veteran, author and researcher Gemma Gardner to talk about identity, medical discharge, transition, mental health and what can happen when the uniform that has defined so much of your adult life is suddenly taken away.

Gemma joined the British Army at just 17 and a half after walking into a careers office almost by chance.

What followed was a 15-year career that gave her education, opportunities, travel, friendships, family and a sense of belonging. She met her husband in the Armed Forces, had her children while serving and progressed to become a senior NCO.

But underneath it all, Gemma had been living with persistent pain.

An injury sustained during training eventually led to a diagnosis of compartment syndrome — something that had gone untreated for years. By the time the full extent of the condition was recognised, the damage could no longer simply be fixed and Gemma was medically discharged.

Within a matter of months, the career and identity she had known throughout almost her entire adult life disappeared.

What followed was a deeply difficult period.

Gemma speaks openly about closing the curtains, shutting herself away from the military community around her and reaching a point where she believed her family would be better off without her.

That experience ultimately became the catalyst for a completely different mission.

Rather than allowing what happened to define the rest of her life, Gemma began asking why transition had affected her so deeply. She started exploring psychology, identity, neuroscience and human behaviour and eventually began conducting her own research into what happens psychologically when people leave high-pressure, identity-driven professions.

Today, that work is helping Gemma challenge the way we think about military transition and identity — and how we might prevent others from reaching crisis point in the first place.

James and Gemma explore why the uniform can become such a powerful part of our identity, why maintaining a life outside the military matters, how families and communities can help during transition, and why understanding who you are before the uniform comes off could make all the difference afterwards.

This is a conversation about identity, belonging, purpose and learning that the uniform may be part of your story — but it is never the whole story.

• Military transition is about far more than finding another job.
• When someone joins young, much of their adult identity can develop inside the Armed Forces.
• Medical discharge can be particularly difficult because the decision to leave is taken out of your hands.
• The uniform can become part of your identity, but it shouldn't become all of your identity.
• Maintaining friendships, hobbies and communities outside the military can make transition easier.
• Building personal boundaries while serving helps preserve a sense of who you are away from work.
• Don't wait until you leave before trying to understand who you are outside the uniform.
• Asking for help can be difficult when you've spent your career putting everybody else first.
• Sometimes helping yourself can begin by doing it for somebody you love.
• Writing, reflection and putting thoughts on paper can help make sense of difficult experiences.
• Military skills such as adaptability remain hugely valuable after service.
• Civilian relationships may develop differently and more slowly than the bonds formed in military life.
• Transition affects families too, not just the person leaving.
• Shared lived experience can help people realise they are not alone.
• Prevention, awareness and education should begin before someone reaches crisis point.

"I didn't know who I was once that uniform came off."

"I was a mother and a wife, but I didn't see that. I just saw: I'm no longer a senior NCO. So who am I?"

"That uniform doesn't define you and it's not who you are."

"Keep everything you've learned, that knowledge and experience, because it will help you."

"The Army was part of him and still is, but it was only part of him. It wasn't all of him."

"We put the job first, then the family, then us."

"Start initially for somebody you love and care about to make that initial change."

"We are better as a team."

"Let's see if we can get prevention in place so we're not in crisis."

One of the practical ideas Gemma shares in the conversation is to create a personal mind map.

Start by putting your reason why in the centre.

Initially, that might be:

Your partner.

Your children.

Your family.

Someone else you deeply care about.

Then begin building around it:

• Your strengths
• Your weaknesses
• Your goals
• Your values
• Your relationships
• Your interests
• The things that matter to you

Come back to it later and look at it again with fresh eyes.

Over time, the person in the centre may change.

Eventually, that person might simply become:

You.

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#GreatGunsPodcast #GemmaGardner #MilitaryTransition #Veterans #BritishArmy #ArmyVeteran #LifeAfterService #MilitaryIdentity #IdentityAfterService

On this episode of The Great Guns Podcast, host James Scott sits down with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Scott Morris to talk about military transition, leadership, networking, resilience and finding purpose after more than two decades in uniform.

For Scott, military service was always somewhere on the horizon.

Raised in a family with a strong tradition of service across the US Armed Forces, he knew from an early age that he wanted to serve his country. What he didn't necessarily know was where that journey would take him.

After initially considering the Air Force and Navy, Scott eventually found his way to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He went on to commission into the US Army as a Field Artillery Officer and ultimately spent 23 years in uniform, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

But even with more than two decades of leadership experience behind him, stepping into civilian life wasn't as straightforward as simply translating a military CV into another senior role.

Scott talks openly about being told he was "overqualified", having doors unexpectedly close and discovering just how important networking, mentorship and relationships would become during his transition.

His eventual path took him somewhere he hadn't originally expected — into youth development, leadership training and, ultimately, corporate leadership consultancy.

Today, through Arrowhead Leadership Consulting, Scott works alongside fellow veterans helping organisations develop stronger leaders and build greater leadership capability.

James and Scott explore what military service teaches us about leadership, why veterans shouldn't underestimate their transferable skills and why failure, frustration and uncertainty aren't signs that transition has gone wrong — they can be part of the process that leads you somewhere better.

This is a conversation about continuing to serve without the uniform, staying open to unexpected opportunities and remembering that when one plan doesn't work, it doesn't mean the mission is over.

• Your transition may not follow the plan you originally imagined.
• Networking can be one of the most important parts of finding your next opportunity.
• Start building relationships outside the military before you leave.
• Mentors can provide perspective that is difficult to find when you're working everything out on your own.
• Military leadership experience is highly transferable, but civilian organisations may not immediately understand where you fit.
• Being told you're overqualified doesn't mean you don't have value.
• Don't be afraid to consider opportunities that look completely different from what you originally planned.
• Veterans already possess many of the problem-solving and decision-making skills needed to succeed outside the military.
• Starting a business can feel intimidating after years of receiving a guaranteed salary, but military experience provides many of the tools needed to adapt.
• Leaving the military can mean losing the immediate camaraderie of your unit, so maintaining relationships and building new communities matters.
• Ask for help. You don't have to navigate transition alone.
• Leadership development doesn't stop when you leave the Armed Forces.
• Failure and frustration are part of growth, not evidence that you've failed completely.
• Some of life's most important lessons come through difficult experiences.
• Keep getting back up, learning and taking the next step.

"All of a sudden you don't have a piece of the operation. You are the operation."

"Networking is the most important piece of it."

"You need outside voices speaking into you."

"The struggle and the frustration are an important part of the process."

"Some of the strongest and most important lessons of your life were learned through failure and through struggle."

"Things don't happen to you; they happen for you."

"Keep getting up in the morning and keep working hard."

"You're not alone."

"Don't be afraid to toot your own horn and express the strengths and skills that you bring."

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Website: Arrowhead Leadership Consulting

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In this episode of The Great Guns Podcast, host James Scott sits down with former British Army officer Daniel James to talk about transition, identity, leadership, family and what it really takes to build a meaningful life after service.

What happens when the career you worked so hard to build no longer fits the life you want?

For Daniel, leaving the military wasn't simply about finding another job. It meant questioning what success actually looked like, deciding what mattered most and having the courage to build a completely different life.

Daniel's journey to the Army was anything but conventional. Before joining, he'd experienced success in business, lost it, worked as a personal trainer and life coach, and eventually found himself reassessing the direction of his life. A conversation with his father about the true meaning of success changed his perspective and ultimately led him to Sandhurst.

After commissioning into the Royal Logistic Corps, Daniel pushed himself further, completing the All Arms Commando Course shortly after Sandhurst. But over time, his priorities began to change. After more than a decade of service, becoming a husband and father, experiencing the loss of his mother and questioning whether the military still aligned with his values, Daniel made the decision to leave.

Today, Daniel lives in Vietnam with his family and works with organisations to improve leadership, wellbeing and workplace culture. His focus is simple but often overlooked: employees are people first.

James and Daniel explore what happens when the structure and identity of military life disappear, why maintaining good habits matters when life becomes difficult, and how family, faith, community and self-awareness can help shape whatever comes next.

This is a conversation about recognising when one chapter has run its course, having the courage to choose a different path and building a life around what genuinely matters.

Takeaways

• Success means different things at different stages of life.
• Leaving the military can be an identity transition, not simply a career transition.
• Family can completely change how you define ambition and success.
• Don't assume civilian life or entrepreneurship will automatically be easier than military service.
• Maintain the positive habits military life gave you, particularly physical exercise, routine and discipline.
• When life becomes difficult, abandoning your healthy habits can make the situation worse.
• You don't need every detail of the future worked out, but you do need direction.
• Being willing to ask for help and talk openly is a strength, not a weakness.
• Organisations can set good people up to fail when they promote them without teaching them how to lead.
• Leadership is a skill that needs to be developed — being technically good at a job doesn't automatically make somebody a good manager.
• Burnout isn't only about workload; recovery, boundaries and the ability to switch off matter too.
• Transition can require accepting that the person you were in the military isn't necessarily the person you need to be afterwards.
• Setbacks are inevitable. What matters is recognising them, learning from them and getting moving again.
• Community, family and meaningful connection matter when you're navigating difficult periods.
• Life after service is an opportunity to consciously decide what the next chapter should look like.

Sound Bites

"I want to be a present dad. I want to be a present husband."

"I want to build my life with them, not adjacent to them."

"I've got a Plan A. I've got a small B and C, but I put all my effort into Plan A."

"You've gone from one high-pressure environment, carried on the hamster wheel, but you've just changed the scenery."

"That old me needs to die and I need to be reborn into something new."

"Maintain some of those habits that you got in the military."

"You don't just put the weight on and say, 'Crack on.' You need to coach people."

"It's about how fast you can understand: I've fallen off the horse here. I need to get back on."

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Website: Centerpoint

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Leaving the military is one of the biggest decisions a serving person will ever make.

After 27 years in the British Army, Royal Signals Warrant Officer David Graham knows exactly what that feels like. At the time of this conversation, he's still serving, just months away from handing in his military ID card and beginning a completely new chapter in civilian life.

Unlike many conversations about transition that come with the benefit of hindsight, this episode captures something different. David is navigating the uncertainty right now. He speaks openly about the doubts, the excitement, the difficult decisions and the planning that has gone into preparing himself and his family for life beyond the Army.

From joining the Army almost by chance, to serving across Europe, Afghanistan and Asia, David has built a career around leadership, teamwork and continuous development. Now, as he prepares to join Netcompany as a Senior Security Infrastructure Consultant, he reflects on the lessons he's learned and why no one should wait until their last few months in uniform to start thinking about what comes next.

This is a conversation about taking ownership, recognising your value and building a plan for the future long before your final day in uniform.

• Transition starts with making a plan.
• Nobody cares more about your future than you do.
• Networking is one of the most valuable tools during resettlement.
• Don't wait until your final months to prepare for civilian life.
• Military experience has enormous value—but you need to be able to explain it.
• Learn to talk about your achievements with confidence.
• Use every opportunity the military gives you to gain qualifications and develop professionally.
• Speak to people working in industries that interest you before deciding your next career.
• Family should be part of every transition decision.
• Leaving the military is the end of one chapter, not the end of your purpose.

"What do you want to do? It's the hardest question to answer."

"Nobody's going to open a door for you—you've got to create the opportunity yourself."

"You need to value yourself."

"Have a plan before you decide to leave."

"You've got to put yourself out there."

"Don't be afraid to ask for help."

"Networking is massively important."

"Transition is your responsibility."

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The Great Guns Podcast shares the stories, lessons and experiences of serving personnel, veterans and the wider military community, helping others navigate transition, discover new opportunities and find purpose beyond the uniform.

#GreatGunsPodcast #DavidGraham #MilitaryTransition #RoyalSignals #Veterans #LifeAfterService #Leadership #Resettlement #ForcesTransitionGroup #PurposeBeyondTheUniform

Transitioning out of the military can feel daunting, but it doesn't have to be something you face alone.

In this episode of the Great Guns Podcast, James Scott speaks with Andy Wilson, a former British Army officer who served for 23 years before transitioning into the corporate world with BT Defence.

Andy shares his journey from joining the Army as a 16-year-old apprentice with REME, commissioning through the ranks after ten years of service, and building a career centred on leadership, empathy and developing people.

When family life became the priority, Andy made the decision to leave the Army. By planning ahead and putting himself out there, he secured a civilian role before handing back his military ID card, allowing him to transition with confidence and purpose.

Today, Andy combines his role at BT Defence with an unwavering commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community. From championing veteran employment programmes to raising thousands of pounds for SSAFA and campaigning for better opportunities for military families, he's determined to ensure that service doesn't stop when the uniform comes off.

Throughout the conversation, Andy shares practical advice for anyone approaching transition, why veterans often underestimate their own value, and why organisations should do more to recognise the skills, loyalty and leadership that former service personnel bring to the workplace.

This is a conversation about planning ahead, backing yourself and continuing to serve in a different way.

• Transition begins the day you join the Armed Forces, not the day you leave.
• Never underestimate the value of your military experience.
• Leadership starts with empathy and putting your people first.
• Planning ahead gives you more choices when it's time to leave.
• Veterans often undersell themselves during recruitment.
• Confidence comes from recognising your own worth.
• The skills developed in military service transfer into almost every industry.
• Employers have much to gain by recruiting veterans.
• Military families deserve greater support throughout their service journey.
• Service doesn't end when you take off the uniform.

"Resettlement begins the day you join the Army."

"Know your self-worth and stop giving people discounts."

"The soldiers aren't there for you. You're there for the soldiers."

"Don't undersell yourself."

"The best people in the UK are in our Armed Forces."

"Have confidence in your own abilities."

"We just need to look out for each other."

"Start thinking about your plan now."

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#GreatGunsPodcast #AndyWilson #MilitaryTransition #Veterans #LifeAfterService #Leadership #BTDefence #SSAFA #MilitaryFamilies #KnowYourWorth

Joining the Army wasn't part of Fern Wise's plan.

As an international netball player, she joined for one reason: to continue playing the sport she loved while getting paid to do it. What followed was eight years in the British Army, representing the Army and Wales in elite sport, instructing new recruits and discovering strengths she never knew she had.

In this episode of the Great Guns Podcast, Fern shares the highs and lows of military life, from travelling the world through Army sport to navigating injury, leadership and the realities of life beyond the sporting arena.

As her career evolved, so did her ambitions.

After realising the military environment no longer aligned with her values, Fern made the difficult decision to leave the Army. With just two weeks between leaving service and starting university, she threw herself into a completely new chapter.

That leap of faith became the first of many.

From qualifying as a teacher to moving overseas, Fern has built an international career that has taken her from the UK to Prague and now China, where she serves as Director of Sport at an international school. Along the way, she's discovered that the skills developed in military service can open doors far beyond the careers many veterans believe are available to them.

This is a conversation about courage, backing yourself, embracing uncertainty and refusing to let your past define your future.

• Your military career doesn't have to define your civilian career.
• Transferable skills are often more valuable than you realise.
• Having a clear plan makes transition far less daunting.
• The confidence to apply for opportunities is often the biggest hurdle.
• Military sport develops leadership, resilience and discipline that transfer into civilian life.
• Don't allow others to limit your ambitions.
• Financial preparation is an important part of a successful transition.
• Growth often comes from stepping outside your comfort zone.
• Wellbeing should never be sacrificed for success.
• Reinventing yourself is possible at any stage of life.

"The Army was never in my sights. I joined for the sport."

"Don't make yourself small."

"Just because you've done something your whole life doesn't mean you have to keep doing it."

"There are so many transferable skills that veterans don't realise they have."

"Don't lose yourself in the system."

"Growth starts when you're willing to do something new."

"I had no idea what I was doing half the time… but I kept putting myself forward."

"The biggest limitation is often the one we place on ourselves."

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Behind every serving person is a family making sacrifices too.

In this special episode of the Great Guns Podcast, James Scott speaks with Lily Shelley, a military child, advocate and member of the Naval Children's Charity Youth Council, about what it's really like growing up in a military family.

Lily's father served in the Royal Marines from 2002 until 2014 and was medically discharged following PTSD related to operational deployments, including Afghanistan. While much of the conversation around military service focuses on those who wear the uniform, Lily shares the often-overlooked perspective of the children growing up alongside military life.

From long deployments and uncertainty at home to watching a parent navigate PTSD and transition out of service, Lily speaks openly about the challenges she faced and how those experiences shaped who she is today.

Now aged 17, Lily has built a growing online platform raising awareness of the unique experiences of military children. Through social media, public speaking and advocacy work, she is helping ensure that young people from military families feel seen, heard and supported.

The conversation explores identity, resilience, family, transition and the importance of creating better understanding for military children in schools, communities and wider society.

This is a powerful conversation about the people standing behind the uniform and why their stories matter too.

• Military service impacts the entire family, not just the person serving.
• Children often carry challenges that remain unseen by others.
• Communication and honesty within families can make a huge difference.
• Military children are often described as resilient because they have no choice but to adapt.
• Schools and educators can play a vital role in supporting military children.
• Community and shared experiences help young people feel less isolated.
• Speaking openly about challenges can help others who are facing similar situations.
• Support is available, but awareness of those resources needs to improve.
• Military life creates unique strengths, perspectives and life experiences.
• No one should feel they have to face these challenges alone.

"Tomorrow isn't promised, so you've got to go and live your life to the fullest."

"People say military children are resilient, but often they're just getting on with it because they have to."

"Sometimes just hearing someone say, 'I get it,' makes all the difference."

"People can't help with things they don't know about."

"Military children do exist, and their experiences matter."

"Putting yourself out there will never hurt you."

"I just want people to know they're not alone."

"Behind every serving person is a family making sacrifices too."

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Naval Children's Charity Youth Council

Linktree (Resources for Military Children and Families)

• Naval Children's Charity
• Scotty's Little Soldiers
• Little Troopers
• Army Families Federation
• Naval Families Federation
• RAF Families Federation
• Combat Stress

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