Page 20 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

We welcome into the Regiment the following officers, who commissioned on 14th December 2018, from RMAS Commis- sioning Course No. 181. The Sovereign’s Representative was HRH The Duke of Cambridge KG KT.
2Lt BP Cameron. Ben grew up in a small village near Marlborough. He pursued country sports from a young age, especially game shooting and deer-stalking. He also spent a lot of time as a sailing dinghy instructor, teaching young adults and children in Aldeburgh and Poole, himself learning about leadership and responsibility in a sometimes-dangerous environment.
At Eton College Ben joined the CCF. Initially seen as a free passage out of School for an illicit smoke, he threw himself headlong into the work, rising to Colour Sergeant (sic). After school, Ben travelled to Peru, where he worked on house-construction in a Lima shantytown and taught English in a local school. He also explored, walking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu and cycling the Death Road in Bolivia.
Back in UK, at Durham university he achieved a BA (Hons) in Arabic and Spanish. He took up lacrosse, subsequently captaining the College team. He also fought in the University Charity Boxing Match: his first taste of boxing, a sport that he quickly came to love.
Ben’s third study year was partly in Northern Spain, and then 9 months at the French Embassy in Beirut. Many of the lecturers were Syrian academics, in Beirut as a result of the civil war; much of the study focused on Syria, with some very personal insights into the savage conflict. Elsewhere in Beirut, Ben took an internship at M&C Saatchi, worked for the Beirut Marathon Association, volunteered for a new recycling initiative, and taught at a primary school in the Shatila refugee camp.
He also travelled to Jordan and Oman, exploring both countries extensively and broadening his interest in new Middle Eastern cultures – he hopes to return to the Middle East in the course of his career as a Rifleman. Ben has commissioned into 3 RIFLES.
2Lt ARM Cater. Augusta grew up on the rural Somerset Levels, which established her sense of independence and adventure. She studied International Politics and Conflict at Queen’s University Belfast, including a semester in Canada, and then a Masters in Intel- ligence and International Security at King’s College London. She has visited all the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - and the three frontline Baltic states, and taken securi- ty-focused courses at summer schools in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland and China.
With the UOTC, she completed theCambrian Patrol with a Bronze Award, shot at Bisley and represented the Army at an international military competition in Mexico. She subsequently commissioned into the Intelligence Corps Reserves. She is enthusiastic about sports, representing her District at cross-country running and competing in equestrian events, swimming and hockey. More recently, she has enjoyed open water swimming, cycling and the challenge of mountain marathons. Her introduction to boxing, at Sandhurst, proved successful.
In 2015 and 2016, she was an intern at the Home Office, working on security issues, and then at NATO HQ in Brussels for six months in the Ops Division. Working on both the Kosovo and African Union Desks, she produced political analyses of events in the NATO AO, and helped deliver practical cooperation measures between NATO and the AU. Before going to Sandhurst, she worked at Army HQ in
Deputy CFA outer office. At Sandhurst she won her Intake’s prizes for Best Cadet in Navigation Exercises and for the second best organised Adventure Training expedition. Being two intakes before females were allowed to join the Infantry, she was commissioned into 1 RHA, but applied to join The Rifles once she had completed her RA Phase 2 training. Augusta has now joined 2 RIFLES.
2Lt OP Dean. Ollie is a Londoner. He went to Harrow School, where his best achievement was being voted Head of House in his final year – a real experience of leadership. Helping 70 boys make the most of their time, spotting any who were struggling and building a real house spirit, he gained valuable insight into working with teams and individuals. He also played for the School 1st XI in cricket and 1st XV in rugby, and acted in and directed plays.
He won his school’s history prize and went on to the University of Leeds to read History. His dissertation was a key part in graduating with a strong 2.1 degree in June 2016.
At Leeds, he captained the University 2nd Cricket XI and also coached the Women’s squad. He climbed Mt Kilimanjaro with Dig Deep, a charity that improves sanitation in Kenya, and worked there for 2 weeks to see the difference his sponsorship money was making.
After graduation he travelled in Australia and New Zealand, teaching for 3 months on Kadavu, one of Fiji’s least developed islands. This required a rapid adjustment to the rigorous lifestyle and vastly different culture, but he learned to adapt and achieved real progress with the pupils. This in turn taught him valuable lessons in how to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds.
After Fiji, he worked as an intern for Big White Wall, a mental health website, partnering with global companies, universities and also the Armed Forces. This showed him how stress and anxiety can affect some soldiers even after on their return home from opera- tions. Ollie’s job was securing university contracts, and in 3 months he added 20 new ones.
Ollie has commissioned into 3 RIFLES.
2Lt OCI Kember. Oli comes from Cambridgeshire. He went to school at Kings Ely, and then Uppingham. Taking up rifle shooting, he won a place in the British Cadet Rifle Team and (whilst studying for GCSEs) in the GB U19 Rifle Team. This meant frequent inter- national competitions at Bisley. Ollie also developed a passion for music, achieving Grade 8 in singing and piano, with distinction. He was in the National Youth Choir for several years, and after a 12-week programme at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, he went on to study Music at the University of Edinburgh.
The Edinburgh years were dominated with musical projects and sport. He played tennis for the University and took up long-distance running and triathlon, which taught him about the commitment and determination needed for success in endurance sports. He joined a Universal Records project, Gareth Malone’s Voices, singing on many tours with major artists, and performing on a variety of high-profile events such as BBC Proms, Children In Need and the Royal Variety Performance. This was a great learning experience for dealing with the pressure of big events and how to thrive in challenging situa- tions.
After University Oli worked as a sound engineer and record producer for various Labels, sometimes collaborating with major artists such as Stormzy, Boy George and others. Artists, record
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THE RIFLES