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me through thinking about leaving the Army            respond to the pandemic. Operation Rescript
         to when I secured my current role, with a large       was initiated to divert thousands of troops –
         financial organisation in their technology business.  including reservists – from normal operations
                                                               to fulfil tasks like conducting COVID testing,
         “What I wasn’t expecting was that Nick would          moving oxygen to where it was needed, and
         give me homework. CV review, elevator pitches,        building the Nightingale Hospitals. One of our
         understanding the industry and preparation for        own Liverymen worked within 77  Brigade,
                                                                                              th
         interview were all gratefully covered (and pro        where he was active throughout lockdown,
         bono, so even better)! He helped me understand
         and reframe my language to suit the corporate
         world, and stood by me every step of the way. It
         has been a five-year process and I look forward
         to continuing my journey and friendship with the
         WCIT. I am humbled by the support the WCIT has
         given me and many other colleagues.”

         We have other significant affiliations, including
         the Joint Forces Cyber Group (2017), part of
         Defence Digital within UK Strategic Command.
         WCIT is beginning to support this relatively new
         and emerging organisation with its retention,
         resettlement and part-time resourcing; in parallel,
         the Security Panel is working with the new UK
         Cyber Security Council to ensure that JFCG
         Members are professionally recognised.

         Our most recent affiliation is with HMS
         Collingwood (2020), a shore establishment (also
         known as a “Stone Frigate”) and home to the
         Maritime Warfare School. We are also looking to
         revitalise our relationships with two cadet units,
         Beckenham and Penge Sea Cadets and 46F
         (Kensington) Squadron Air Cadets, which date back
         to 2013.


         A number of former members of the Royal Corps of
         Signals are firmly ensconced in the WCIT, and there    Michael Grant: “Don’t tell him, Pike!”
         are also several Company members who serve Her
         Majesty as reservists.                                focusing on the identification of (and helping to
                                                               counter) coronavirus-related misinformation. A
         Past Master Michael Grant has been a reservist        great example of how IT and the Forces are now
         with the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), the      so closely integrated as we redefine the word
         oldest regiment in the British army, for 50 years. He   “warfare” in the modern world.
         has to remain fit for his continuing ceremonial role
         as a member of the HAC’s Company of Pikemen           Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter
         and Musketeers , the official bodyguard of the Lord   described the military’s assistance to the NHS as
         Mayor, where he regularly has to march wearing        the “single greatest logistical challenge” he had
         18 pounds of armour and carrying a long pointed       come across. During this plague, the Armed Forces
         stick.                                                and the IT profession have played some of the
                                                               most important parts. Long may the vital support
         But it isn’t all ceremony. The Armed Forces           of all the livery companies to the Armed Forces
         had to switch focus with breathtaking speed to        continue.
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