Page 28 - RADC 2020

International service with NATO
Col D Willey MBE, MA, BDS (Hons), MFGDP(UK) RCS(Eng), DDHSLM RCS(Eng) Assistant Chief of Staff and Medical Advisor, Joint Medical Division
Introduction
I was delighted to be asked by the editor
to write a short piece for this year’s edition of the Bulletin, outlining my experiences in the Army Medical Services Command & Staff Cadre; and more specifically to give an insight and some perceptions of my current International Service with NATO. I’ve now spent 10 years away from clinical practice, and whilst I miss many aspects of patient- facing clinical roles, my transition into the AMS C&S Cadre has opened the door to
a whole new world of opportunities and adventure.
In the early part of my career, the RADC was still coming to terms with its role in
the new Joint delivery organisation – The Defence Dental Agency. Even by the early 2000s, there was little, if any, opportunity to serve in Field Medical Units or to undertake formal staff training. Things started to change in 2003 and a small number of PQOs were allocated places on the Intermediate Command & Staff Course (Land). At this time there was no formal mechanism for accessing staff training; nor was there any clear roadmap for those who aspired to serve in non-clinical Command & Staff roles. It was very much a case of individual volition and a fair slice of luck.
In my case, I was certainly lucky, but I
also benefited from a series of supportive mentors – Colonel Mike Kasasian; Colonel Alan Gaw; and Colonel Carson Black – who all got behind me and offered candid advice on how I might realise my ambitions. So in 2007, I was delighted to be finally accepted as a student on ICSC(L) 4b.
Having completed ICSC(L) I undertook my first staff appointment at HQ Army Medical Directorate in Camberley. This was an important proving ground that allowed me to start developing a different skillset and to grow my experience working in a single Service headquarters environment. Even at this stage, I was still undecided whether my future lay in the clinical or
staff domain; I therefore decided to move back over to the Defence Dental Service
in 2010 and returned to Germany as a Regional Senior Dental Officer in Hohne. For me, the decisive moment came in
2013 when I was tasked at short notice to deploy with the European Union Training Mission headquarters in Bamako, Mali. Thereafter, I was also selected to attend
the Advanced Command & Staff Course (ACSC), immediately upon my return from Operations.
Again, luck and chance had played a hand which was to set me on the trajectory to where I am now. Following ACSC I served tours with HQ 1(UK) Division; HQ 102 Logistic Brigade; and more latterly as the Chief of Staff with HQ British Forces Germany Health Service.
For those considering a career in the AMS C&S Cadre, the pathway is far more developed and arrangements are now formally codified in a DIN published in 2016. There’s now a clear entry point, selection criteria, career progression framework and formal transfer arrangements for clinicians wishing to move over from Group B
clinical cadres into the AMS Command & Staff Cadre. I’d therefore strongly advise
Graduation from ACSC
colleagues wishing to explore this avenue to familiarise themselves with the DIN and to seek council from their APC career manager.
Although I’d served for over 6 years in staff appointments, I only formalised my own transfer to the AMS Command & Staff Cadre in 2016. I was then extremely fortunate and honoured to be selected for promotion to Colonel in the ‘Blue List’ of 2018.
Headquarters Joint Force Command Brunssum
I’d initially expected to assume my first appointment as Colonel in 2019, however,
I was approached by APC in the summer of 2018 and asked if I might be interested in applying for a post at JFC Brunssum, starting in 6 weeks’ time. I’d served with International headquarters in the past, but I had no previous experience of NATO; albeit the opportunity for further overseas service and working in an International setting
very much appealed to me. I therefore moved quickly and assumed my current appointment in October 2018.
Many readers will be familiar with NATO
as an organisation – a political and military alliance of 30 member states which
has evolved continuously since it was established in 1949. The NATO Strategic Concept, published in 2010, identifies NATO’s core tasks as collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security. Deterrence is based on an appropriate
mix of nuclear, conventional and ballistic missile defence capabilities, which remain
a core element of NATO’s overall strategy. Developing and procuring capabilities through multi-national cooperation helps generate economies of scale, reduces costs,
HQ Joint Force Command Brunssum
26 RADC BULLETIN 2020
C&S JOBS