My guest in this episode of The Security Podcast is Father Stephen Sharkey, an Army padre who in an earlier life was once a Territorial Army soldier. Padres hold a unique position within the British Armed Forces. They have rank but are non-combatants and are unarmed. Their role is to provide leadership but they do not command. All Army padres are members of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department. Every chaplain has been trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on what is known within the Army as the "Vicars and Tarts Course". Stephen has deployed on numerous military operations and twice served in Afghanistan, where he conducted services in the field wearing a helmet and body armour. During the podcast, Stephen chats about the highs and lows of serving on operations, dealing with loss and why padres are crucial to morale.