Page 24 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

and Psychology, which allowed him to join the British Psychological Society. Whilst at university, he joined Southampton OTC, whence he also spent time with 29 Cdo Regt, RA.
At Sandhurst, Nic trained with the Academy boxing team and captained his Company’s swimming team for two of the three terms. He developed a reputation within the Company for attention to detail and a willingness to help any of his peers who were strug- gling: he proactively coached some of the international cadets with navigation, a skill at which he himself excelled.
Nic has commissioned into 5 RIFLES.
2Lt ES Lander. Lizzie grew up in the New Forest - an idyllic childhood with huge freedom to roam outdoors. With a sister who both enjoyed and suffered the consequences of her more adven- turous nature, together they survived many incidents; from nearly destroying the family home to deciding on a whim to tackle the Three Peaks.
Sport has always been a major part of her life: starting with mixed-team rugby from the age of 6; to hockey at county level, and then rowing and qualifying for the junior GB crew. She also maintained academic rigour at school through good time management and a perhaps then uncharacteristic self-discipline. Lizzie attended several schools, each with unique opportunities. In a conscious choice to grow her rowing career, she moved to a government-run sports academy (a change from her cosseted experience at prep school). This didn’t stop her academic focus, which won her a sports and academic scholarship to Canford where, amongst other things, she captained the Boat Club and won a place at Edinburgh University to read Engineering (she subsequently decided to avoid university in favour of entering Sandhurst).
Prior to Sandhurst, she travelled extensively through Cambodia and Vietnam, adapting to life as a solo traveller, fixing her motorbike on the side of jungle roads and navigating her way well off the beaten track. She enjoyed experiencing new cultures, particularly bringing Asian cooking home for friends and family.
Lizzie was diagnosed with a broken foot in the final week at Sandhurst, an injury which appears to have been sustained before the start of the Commissioning Course. She was therefore not on the Sovereign’s Parade itself. Lizzie has commissioned into 5 RIFLES.
2Lt BWZM Maciejewski. Benjamin went to Winchester College, and it was here that he began to develop his preferred interests. He fell in love with Cricket and was 2nd XI Captain for two years. He also developed an interest in drama: he wrote and co-directed his house play. This was enormous fun, but also taught him a lot about managing people.
After school, Benjamin took a gap year; he worked over Christmas in Sales at Fortnum & Mason and later as an Electoral Assistant for an MP in the run-up to the 2015 General Election. The latter of these jobs involved listening to the concerns of people from all manner of backgrounds: an experience that will be useful to life as a Young Officer.
Benjamin studied Theology and Philosophy at Durham, achieving a 2.1 with Joint Honours. He joined the UOTC and learned skiing and mountaineering, which taught him how adventurous training is useful for professional development and conquering fear. He also signed up for a Charity Boxing match. He enjoyed the training but then found he was drawn against a Durham 1st XV rugby player. Thankfully, he came out of the ring with pride and face still just intact, despite having been soundly beaten in front of well over 1000 people. It was a character-building experience.
Having a father in the Army, Benjamin has been aware from a
young age of what a military career can look like and is ready for the challenge. He commissioned into 3 RIFLES.
2Lt RPB Oatts. Robert left Bryanston School in July 2015 as an Army Scholar, and after some casual work, cycling in Scotland and travelling in Europe, he began studying Biology at Durham University that autumn. At university he maintained his enthusiasm for sport, playing both rugby and hockey for his college, and cross country running for the university. He also participated regularly with North- umbrian UOTC, thoroughly enjoying both military and adventurous training.
At NUOTC he completed courses in summer and winter mountain- eering, skiing and rock climbing. He took part in expeditions in the Lake District, Yosemite National Park and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco (they summited Toubkal in winter conditions and aided the extraction of an injured climber who was stranded on the peak). Robert achieved leader qualifications in mountaineering, climbing and offshore sailing, and is working towards instructor qualification in alpine skiing. He also completed the Reserve Commissioning Course at RMAS, and commanded a UOTC platoon in his second year. He found the unique challenge of training and developing cadets who were also his university peers hugely rewarding. He was 2IC of the unit’s Cambrian Patrol team, winning a bronze medal in 2016. He graduated from Durham with a 2:1.
Robert has taken up cycle touring, and has been on trips around the Inner and Outer Hebrides, as well as Southern Ireland. He has spent several weeks trekking alone in the Canadian Rockies and along the coast of British Columbia. He has also taken part in biological research in South Africa, conducting a study on large herbivores in a game reserve in North West Province.
Robert had a successful year at Sandhurst, and was a leading light in the Sandhurst Cup Team in the competitions at West Point. He commissioned into 1 RIFLES.
2Lt MN Wahab. Born and brought up in Harrow, Nadir has been a keen sportsman throughout his life. He captained his school’s 1st XI cricket team for four years at a regional level and spent much of his youth training and competing nationally in kayak slalom. Since then, he has raced on semi-professional yachts in international regattas and has funded his summers by working as part of a professional racing crew for corporate clients. Being a sportsman has not only given him a strong background in fitness and team work, but also a competitive and resilient attitude towards challenge.
He read Maritime Engineering at the University of Southampton, and graduated with a Masters in Engineering. To gain military experience, he joined the UOTC early in the first year. In four years with the OTC he had the opportunity to plan and partake in several adventurous training trips, which included offshore sailing – he was able to race for the British Army, and was part of the winning team in the 2016 Three Peaks Yacht Race. Nadir is an established enthusiast for many matters nautical, with growing experience in offshore competitive sailing and a degree in nautical science. The military experience he gained with UOTC also cemented his desire to pursue his career in the Army.
At Sandhurst, Nadir was able to draw parallels between engineering methodologies and the Combat Estimate, drawing upon the former to support his decision-making process during field exercises. This was commented upon favourably by his Platoon and Company staff. He has also played cricket for the Rifles on several occasions. Nadir has commissioned into 5 RIFLES.
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THE RIFLES