Hello, this is AJ Roberts 15-year British forces veteran entrepreneur high performance coach and loving father and husband this podcast is for the motivated and inspired for those looking to level up their lives for Fitness Nutrition and their mindset. Welcome to the best version of you. Hello boys and girls and welcome to another episode of the best version of you. I met Jay Roberts and today. I'm very very proud to bring you an amazing guest another military veteran of the Great British forces. Mr. Steve. He knew Steve. How you doing? I'm great energy. Great good to speak to you. Awesome, man. Well, thanks again for coming on the show. We've is something we've been trying to get together for some time and it's brilliant if we manage to kind of get One and I have lots of for being really busy both of us. So it's great to have you on guys just a brief introduction on Steve and your know straightaway why I was really Keen to get him on Steve is an ex Elite military member of our British armed forces and he's now an expert in leadership management and strategizing and decision-making of high-performance teams where he concentrates building cohesion both in the military at home and abroad and his unique experience of success and struggle is absolutely inspiring now Steve joined. What was then called expletive which was formed that's what was formerly known as and it is many of you have heard the name of the Pathfinders and at 20 years old Steve became the youngest member of the Pathfinders. Now a lot of You cast your minds back would have heard of the operation in Sierra Leone in May 2000. Steve was part of that Infamous operation is part of 26 personnel and they were dropped into a remote jungle Village and they're only expecting to stay there for 48 hours and not coming to any dramas, but that soon became a fierce 16 day Siege against 2,000 Rebel attackers. For his leadership and his actions during the battle. Steve was awarded the military cross and the come in the first noncommissioned officer or NCO in the unit's history to receive this decoration Steve absolutely remarkable moment and obviously of the back of this story led to you right in your first book. Is that right? Yeah. That's right. That's right. AG. Yeah operation Mayhem basically recounts the sort of Operation in its entirety so that whole book covers that that single deployment. Yeah. It's a pretty amazing story and it's is the kind of stuff that you know makes films we've seen many films and have passed where troops have been dropped off specimens only stay out for a little bit and they end up getting absolutely smashing in the thick of it just talks briefly through but what that was like going from Justice. Spectrum to be there for a couple of days to it being over two weeks long. Yeah, I mean obviously we can't we knew when we got on the helicopter when we mounted from we forward-mounted from longy Airfield, but we knew at that point that we were real chance that we were going to be fighting when you we just didn't know the Tangier ation. So we when we go on board the helicopters, we literally only had two days of food and two days of water. and and you know, very small amount of ammunition the reason being that deployment their operation it moved so fast from the UK that the operational stores that usually you know move with a deployment like that hadn't so when we landed in Sierra Leone, we basically, you know, we kind of had five magazines a month and about 400 rounds for GPM geez, and that was it. Well, you know, so we got on board the helicopter we knew I mean they they attacked the Task Force Commander and told us that we were being put out on a limb. We're going to be used as bait and the idea was to entice the rebels to basically come and attack us and the idea being that we would inflict such a blow that we would kind of deter them from pushing on to the Airfield because subsequently what was happening when we were going out was that we were trying to extract British Personnel from Freetown. So while that operation of rounding them up moving them back to the air base and then put on c-130s back to to to Dakar in Senegal. We were there really to to hold on the perimeter if you were so Yeah, it was yeah, it was a little bit was an anxious time. Shall I say? Yeah, I know what I was going to be my next question. Like what was going through your mind on the helicopter on the way there knowing that the task was to sort of entice attackers and actually very highly likely going to be attacked. Yeah, the thing that the whole operation I mean, you know, we had two Chinooks. So we deployed 26 of us. We deployed on two Chinooks, but we took two pins gower's in with us. So there was a Pinzgauer in 1213 guys on one aircraft in the Pinzgauer and 13 guys on the other airframe two Chinooks. We had no Maps there was no effort to graphs. It really was a very sort of Rapid move from the UK. So, you know when you're flying a treetop level over the jungle and bearing in mind this week, it was real Mangrove the kind of impenetrable jungle. So once you wow Roth them tracked one main track running from the east of the country to the west of the country sort of a hard packed sand track about 8 meters wide, and that was the only method of movement Through the Jungle. Well, so, you know peering peering over the pilot shoulder out the cockpit and then walking down to the back of the aircraft where the Lord he's got the ramp down. You know, you're flying it, you know, 50 feet 50 feet above the top of the trees looking down thinking to yourself if it goes wrong there is nowhere to run. You know, there is no E&E. There is no movement at all other than being on the track and then obviously you you risk the fact that you know, the rebels who Had a lot of vehicles, you know, we could close you down very quickly and like leading up to this operation obviously going straight into the jungle had you done much jungle training prior to this yummy really fortunate. I mean, you know the Pathfinders at the time where you know, there's a there's a strong link to uksf. You know, there's a lot of cross training, you know, I'd been to the Jungle personally probably about eight times I think priority Playing so jungle training and as we all know that the jungle is used to really hone skills. And yeah patrolling in the jungle is kind of looked upon as the sort of hardest environmental living and if you can conduct yourself in a manner in the jungle, then in a more contemporary European environment, you know, you're you know, you find life much easier administratively physically meant to lie. No, the Perfection of your skills. So the jungle for us was was was a real regular training ground. The issue. We had AJ is that you know, the British army hadn't fought in the jungle for 40 years. We trained him go but we've never fired a shot in anger since the millea campaign Hmm Yeah, there must have been must've been quite scary at first and he was this your first sort of real sore kinetic encounter. Yeah, I mean absolutely in a week. We've done a little bit of work in Central America, you know, you know in 1999 we've been part of of agriculture in into the Balkans and then in the Macedonia, but like she said my did this was the first time where you are, you know, when basically you are at the end of that as you said at the kinetic end of contact yet well and I've just just for the listeners at home. you might understand really like the makeup of sort of like regiments of stuff that you just give us an idea of what like the Pathfinders role is and the Pathfinders are classed as as an advanced Force. So they're their role within 16 index 16 Brigade. And then at the time within three UK div was to insert 7 days ahead of any main Force the idea being to Ricky locate Ricky and secure Drop Zones or helicopter landing sites for the sort of In Lord of combat power. So to recognize Revenue Drop Zones for the Brigade or to bring in helicopters or even to look for temporary land in zones. So these are areas where C-130 aircraft can land. So I'm not talking about a room where he were talking about, you know compact hardened ground Fields anywhere at all where the c-130s can land to to bring in the bringing troops and On a usual say like let's say an average operation what distances we haven't cover from your drop off point to sort of you know in to infiltrate into where you needed to go and Ricky what sort of distances would you like usually cut carry out more stuff on most occasions. It was never it was never less than 40 to 50 kilometers. So depending how we went in so I mean the pfr trending in In all all forms of parachute in everything from static line to static line Square to sort of low-level static line up to 8,000 feet high level static line or here whore which is currently, you know, above 25,000 a trend in their military freefall above 25,000 or whichever way. We went in we generally had somewhere between 40 to 50 years to infiltrate that would be generally done over to anywhere from two to four nights. So we'd be on the ground two to four days. Then we would look at the Drop Zones and spend another further sort of 48 96 hours locating the Drop Zone re-keying it and sending back reports to the UK, you know, which obviously would then would then facilitate the entry of of the Brigade well suppose as well. You see like 40 to 50 kilometers done over possibly four nights, I guess because of the nature of what you're doing and it's you need to keep kind of like you're Behind Enemy Lines in essence and you need to keep your heads down don't usually can't afford to just cover distances quite quickly. Can you literally got to have your wits about you the whole time? I mean absolutely that you know, we're talking about, you know, we only move under the cover of Darkness. You've got four to five men in the team again, depending on the task you've got Guys carrying seven days food seven days water radios. We carried every form. We carried Satellite Communication System the time about the UK. We carry secure HF we carry secure VHF we code stick you a UHF for talking to aircraft. So we would in a patrol every man would probably have a radio then you would have an inter Patrol read your you'd have 70 years batteries. You'd have all of the observation equipment store thermal imagery, you know. Each guy would probably be carrying somewhere around 70 to 90 pounds. Wow, you know on his back we don't use tracks. So we're off the Beaten Track you're on uneven ground. You're using wood glue and you're using dead ground to maneuver and and and to push across so, you know, you're not making a lot of ground. It's bad very sort of. Training physical work doing an infiltration and the course, you know, you're watching out for enemy activity as well. And on that. What was it? Like when you first came into contact on that operation was it just endless barrage or was it like a bit of a sort of quick shooting scoot or did it just literally all hell broke loose. No, I started off as I said, you know, we we went in for two and when that passed we subsequently were then on a basis where we were just in our own minds. We were we were going to stay as long as the task force was in country. So we the contact didn't come we'd been in the jungle nine days or to them when they contacted him and it came really as a result of we thought it was a negligent discharge. I charged that somebody had got come up to the village and just took a potshot what subsequently happened from the forward Central positions relaying it back to us because we had a we had a line of defense's covering the lightly enemy approach wrote and what they've done and the rebels did crawled up the side of the track through the jungle in a drain in almost like a ditch. So if I'm at the track and campers running down the side where water would be Enough that of the hard concrete compacts and they'd managed to crawl to within about 25 metres of that fold trench. The guys had picked them up on the nvgs, but because of the Rules of Engagement Which is what we were we were Bound by at that was that you know, unless there was risk to you or you had come under contact, you know, you couldn't engage. Yeah, there was a lot of civilians moving about there was people moving into the village saw the basically the forward guy of that out of the rebels. I crawled up at kind of Nell table and fired his weapon and then in effect, he got a stoppage. So I would guys obviously at that point we come into contact risk of life, you know risk of loss of lives or the forward positions just opened up on them then, you know saw and at that point they realized what was happening and then and then like I said all hell broke loose people are we managed over the sort of eight days to prepare the ground so we got the local villages to cut back there. Jungle from our forward trenches so they did we'd opened up fields of fire. If you like. Okay, the idea being that they would have to cross open ground to get to us. We then built some obstacles in the oven ground. So, you know, we didn't have any mines or anything then we had some a few bits of plastic explosive. So we had some we had some det-cord a few detonators and sunbathe. You some PE. So we made a couple of improvised clear Mars. Yeah, we've all been tins. Yeah, I mean you'll get that as from your background. Yeah, we got the locals to to chop up bits of bamboo and they created a punji Fields across the front of us basically and like I said my at that point then you know, the whole jungle came alive, you know, we took a we were taking our PG rounds. To the trees. We were taking heavy machine gun fire from what was because we got some of them later the old like the a Peds the Russian like machine guns. So yeah, we were taking a fair amount of a fair amount of fire and obviously like this went on for some time. And I mean your team themselves. Did you did you take any any major casualties? No, nothing nothing. No, I mean what we've done is we've broken the team's up sore. At the age we were down to 25 when you were 26, we were down to 25 at that point. The platoon Commander had left saw on the ground. We had four teams spread which were basically covering the lately enemies of approach those for patrols were separated in some cases by 60 and 70 meters of jungle. So they did, you know, they've got themselves some We took trenches and like I said, we prepared for eight days. So they dug battle trenches. So all across our front edge, which at that point was probably about 500 meters from the I was sort of left of Arc through the axis, which was the track come to watch as and then through to the right of our quiz about 500 meters and then in the in the jungle opposite was, you know, we were taking we were taking fire from those positions. And I'm but I mean do you did you get an idea for what their tactics were if any or they just literally just heavily armed and just trying to smash you have everything. I think it was. Yeah, there was a little bit of I mean luckily for us. I mean and when we think back to it the tactically tactically, you know, there was a bit of naivety because if they'd of if they devote flank doesn't got behind us then, you know, we would have been cut off because There wasn't any Escape Routes. As I said that the uni plan was was back through the jungle back to longer Airfield which was 40 kilometers through a mangrove swamp. So if they had managed to get behind as and outflank us then you know, we would have been in serious danger. We just didn't have the troops on the ground to cover every possible approach row. I don't doubt you. Was there any point during that then when you I thought shit, you know, we're going to get overwhelmed here it was it possible to call in air support. Now. There wasn't any em, there was nothing available. You know, there was not the idea was that when we gone in we'd been briefed that there would have been a qrf on standby. So there would have been a platoon from one per hour on standby at the Airfield because everybody knew what was going to happen. Then you the rebels were moving Waters with there was Electronic warfare intercepts we've been on the ground now so they were picking up a lot of chatter. We were getting into updates every day. So we knew how many were coming. We knew they were headed towards us and we were told there would be a qrf available. So there would be a platoon, you know, that would that would fly out to Rescuers. So we were working on the fact that if a person was on standby, it would probably take five minutes to get them up five minutes. Too low the monetization organ 35 minutes flying time. We thought once we come into contact with that, we just have to hold out for 45 minutes maximum. We'd have to hold out for an hour. Yeah before we were before reinforcements arrived. And subsequently, you know during the contact when we send the contact with cop that you know, there was a problem with the qrf and I'm sure that's going to be one of your next questions. Well, I was going to say like well, how long has it to the actually came out? Well, they didn't come okay, or you know we call for the qrf and over the next shot a couple of hours. So we had the initial contact heavy with. It a fire we were returning fire when we gone into the jungle. I had a fifty one millimeter Mark with me like mad. Yeah, but there was no here Chien country. So I was given illumination rounds at 18 illumination round. So during the contact I'd crawled forward to the forward positions to the edge of the tree line. So I'm now looking over the Auburn area that we cook down. When I say cut down, you know, this was just clearing a little bit of the of the foliage so that we could see people moving, you know, we didn't start a thrash and burn everything. Yeah. I needed to get into a position to play the Martyr because I thought if we could illuminate them then we would be able to pick them off. Yeah, obviously I couldn't put the mantras up when I was Under The Canopy so I had to crawl to the edge of the Jungle and even then it wasn't really a good position to put them or drops. I almost had to crawl out forward of the positions where the guys were firing so that I could get the illumination rounds far enough into the air and far enough behind. And the rebels saw that they were lit up and we remained in darkness. Well, that's pretty amazing. And obviously I did you get the Rams off. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you know, luckily I'd going to work position. What I'd also happened is on the date of the contact for to command or were sailing from the UK on HMS ocean. Their idea was that they would do a relief in place of the one power of battle group. So we'd had raw Marine captain and fluent the jungle on the day of the contact to do a recce with the intention that they we would be relieved in that in that forward positions for he was meant to fly out in the afternoon. He was only going to be on the ground for a few hours. We then got a message that he was not going to be extracted because the helicopters were being retasked. So he Would have to stay in the jungle with those that night and as it happened, that's the night of the contact. So the the rumbling captor he basically crawled with me while the rest of our guys were fighting. I had the mortar and he crawled behind me with the bag of mortar rounds and unassisted me while I was firing the mortar. Well, actually when you actually go back to seeing is allowed to know after painting that huge contact and in that sort of jungle battle that he just pretty much walk back into Camp strutting giving it a very big bollocks about look. Where do you where we've been boys the next morning. I mean, we'll fast forward slightly to answer that question the next morning when it was all over and And under reinforcements the qrf had come he was flown out, you know back to back to washing. So he kind of left us the next morning, but no absolutely not. I mean, he subsequently gone on to have an amazing career. He's also been awarded the MC himself. He's all be a you know, he was her, you know a Real Testament has so the sort of command or Spirit, you know. Yeah. Yeah Hunter. Yeah. Yeah. I see. I see a lot with my own brother. My brother's based the pool. Yeah. Yeah. No, it will see we talk about stuff like this all the time and it's yeah, they've got some fantastic fantastic gentleman in the Commandos are there real great bunch of lads? I think what the I think what it what it does what it what were the highlights is that across the Fox as we're just adaptable in the he's a guy there that's commandment guys for the you know for four hours and then he's in a gun battle and then he flies out the next morning, you know, so I think it's just that sort of you know, and we talked about it. I you know, when I talk about it with Business Leaders and spots leaders and educational leaders now it is that sort of interoperability. Yeah makes the military all of our three services, you know so good that confidence that comes from self-belief self-determination, you know that drive that confidence in your own ability that that when you are dropped into such an alarming position that you can just very quickly turn your mind to the task at hand and and get on with it. Yeah. Yeah. I'm certain it's a lot of Americans that I I spoke to over the years. I've said a very similar thing is that like especially within our forces where we're trained to cover everything really like being a royal engineer. For example, you know, you've got a soldier first the combat engineer second and a Tradesman and the Specialists and it's in the American Army. They'll have this that big they'll literally have a guy who's a specialist is Building Bridges and that's all he'll do. so when it comes to like say adaptability the Americans have always been very fond of like how just how good we are at that and I always have been yeah, I mean, yeah, and and like I said that you know that what we do so well is and I don't think any other Armed Forces do it and having worked in seen with the vast majority of them is that we thrive on Mission command. Yes. What so that decentralization of decision-making saw, you know anyone from a private Soldier to you know, the section Commander the between command anybody you know is Is capable of making decisions in the moment because they are there they are on the ground the other one that's exposed to the problem, you know sort they making tactical decisions on the ground based on what they can see what they can hear you what they can smell you know, and which is in line with the with their commanders intention on and we have that that decision making is you know is passed down to every rank. Ink Yeah Yeah a hundred percent. Obviously, you're talking earlier about parachuting. So obviously when you join the forces noticed Pathfinders isn't something you can just jump right in to excuse the pun. Your everyone has to start off in some form of sort of regiment or Battalion 1st you join the parachute regiment back in 1986. Yes, I joined when I get 6 and spent so I joined up in July 8th, six Innings and spent six months in junior para. I mean I was I was only 16 and a half when I joined up so I did six months in junior para. And then the way that Junior para worked back then was at the end of your six months training you then joined the team that was going through adult training at a certain point within that I mean when I went into my adult adult platoon when they were in week four, so I done six months and you when you power and dad again, so it almost took me 10 months to pass out of training only because that's just the way jr. Parish you do you six months and then you join adult recruit platoon, so I joined them at week 4 Well, I'm going on from there. Where did you serve with during that time for you to join the Pathfinders? And so I went to 3 para kind of I think it was April 87. So almost immediately went straight over seas to Cyprus on on an exercise, which was great. And then I think it was the Beginning of 89 we went out to Belfast. So I was in Belfast with three pair of for a year and then left left them at the end of 89 Christmas time to do PF selection. So I went through playoff selection the beginning of January 1990 was when the course started selection part brilliant and how long was your military career in total? Not counting my junior para service because that's just for the queen like you're here doing that. I did 15 years. Well, I mean it's significant is a significant amount of time. I did 15 years myself and upon leaving the military you went to work for the UAE government. Yeah, what happened was I mean, you know, I took the decision to leave to leave the Army shortly after we came back from Sierra Leone, you know, I just felt the time my time to leave was then so I left in March of 2001 and pretty pretty much instantly. I was offered a job in London a good friend of mine was running was honest. 18 in London, so I ended up pretty much jumping straight out of the military and straight into a job in London, and it was while I was going to work in London one day walking, you know. Walking down Parkland towards the detector going into work and you know and and and the you know, 9/11, you know, the the, you know, the thing that changed the world forever. Yeah, I was actually going into work that day and seeing it on the news and within about three days of that happening again. I was in a job in London, no problem at all. You know. Everyone's watching it on the news. I got a phone call from another. A friend who'd been into parenting done things into Power Patrol Z done some work on the Pathfinders. He then had a job out in the UAE and he emailed me and said look make they're looking for somebody like you with your skill sets. You know, we all know what's coming. What do you think? So I said, okay great. So three weeks later. I'd resign from the job in London three weeks later. I was out in the UE. Well basically as a contractor Yeah, so it was a private military contracts or your so at the time you are given a contract and you become a military advisor. So I went out straight into there into the Special Operations Command and was responsible for everything from we you know, we looked at training we design training syllabus has we looked at Cost training plans. We devised training. And we established and set up the training then we run the training, you know in you know in conjunction with a UAE officer counterpart. So the idea was that we were mentoring overseeing training mentoring and getting them into a position where they could run it themselves. But that's brilliant and It's Just Another War another place that British Personnel of sorry, you know helped out. Yeah, the wider government agencies and armies like a pretty much all over the world helping in gate and engaging with them to sort of like improve improve their strategies and it's this office has been very effective as an it over the last like well, yeah for several decades now, Yeah, I mean, you know British service Personnel, you know from from whatever their background are in great demand and and it is widely accepted that I was sort of take on on what training should look like how we how we modulate training how we you know, how we are constantly driving standards High the fact that we you know, we will press on and on and on until it till it's right. I think I would discipline our Set our overall approach to to war fighting in every level. So if it's not full kinetic conflict, it's cotton operations. It's p support operations, you know, we've been exposed to pretty much everything and the fact that one instructor may be able to deliver every single one of those areas because he or she will have will have done. On a coin operation a piece of part operational have been involved, you know in kinetic operations, you know, we have a great understanding, you know of all operations other than War. Yeah, if you like yeah and it's a is if things are that we talked about that is another big reason why countries like Australia and New Zealand are very keen to Employee British service Personnel, you know even once they've done their full 22-year career to transfer over to their forces because or even if they've done like 12 years and there are certain ranks like Corporal Sergeant was there often short of an error armies because it works out hell of a lot cheaper and more efficient for them to pretty much instead of putting somebody from day one through training all the way through to that rank. It's actually what cheaper and efficient to pick up a Corporal size of the British army has got a lot of operational experience and is already fully trained in all those areas to then pay for them to come over to their country putting the house and you know with their family stuff that is actually a hell of a lot cheaper and a lot better for them there not many cases. Yeah may know and why wouldn't you have mean if you look at the benefits, I mean if I was if I was considering setting up a training Wing, you know, I would be looking around. Like I said for for expiration Personnel knowing for a fact that you know, if you look at what we've been involved in, you know, everything, you know, I mean obviously post post second world war all the way through, you know Crimea and then, you know our experience in southern Ireland and we've got the Falklands we've got desert experience. We've got jungle experience, you know, we were part of part of the you know, the flank protection out in the Arctic. So there's nothing that we haven't done. You wouldn't think that room when why wouldn't you bring people out, you know and list them into your military get them working in a training Wing get them out in the unit's depositing them within these units to you know to talk through about you know, how you conduct those kind of operations for me would be a no-brainer. Yeah, exactly. Like just like said, it's an absolute no-brainer and and off the back all that experience you gains both obviously in the Pathfinders and and working for government over in UAE. Did you harness all that experience and then basically put it into the work that you do now is an established motivational keynote speaker and delivering sort of leadership and management training all over the country. Yeah, I mean, you know, I can't sort of came back from the ue4 for and a bit years ago. You know, my brother. There was a professional football. I saw I kind of was around Elite Sport, you know, and he was a Premiership footballer play for England. So I was around Elite Sport all the time and I saw the sort of similarities in you know, in that sort of ethos those those values both on a personal. Well level and then being part of a collective that is performing at the peak level, you know standards of Fitness. We're talking about mental in physical resilience about being able to overcome adversity coming back from setbacks and injuries. You know, that strong mindset. What is it like to be part of a high performing team, you know 11 people on the pitch doing battle. So it was a natural fit for me. So I Dodo, you know giving my own voice in my experience to the to the to the FAA to the league Managers Association. I've worked you know and a half. I have an I currently am working, you know with Premiership football clubs one of which in in the top six, we're looking at the Academy the development of Youth. So how we sort of invest in the youth especially when they're moving into you know into sport that so demanding we're talking about Ellen Drive, determination, you know that that creating that winning spirit that ethos so it was a natural fit it is and it's a lot of lot of sports teams looking towards like the military and obviously experienced people within the military sort of come in and deliver sessions. I've on-site or within their sort of training facilities just because of the Parents they bring from all those outside experiences themselves because it's something that these Sports people haven't really experienced themselves just to take that kind of those leadership qualities to the next levels. It says it is really good idea. Obviously like you got gasps. Okay II the England team to go visit the Royal Marines before hasn't he? Yeah, you know and it's only I think it's only now that not only is it Elite spot but corporate Enterprises, you know, and again I do a lot of with business and I do equally as much with schools. I do quite a lot of with skills and it is now, you know, it's that acceptance of of the core values that the military that we have. You know that sort of, you know determination in Great trust honesty resilience, you know all of those things now that big business was scared of the military education was scared of the military, but it was because they were naive to what we are, you know to what we are shown what we are exposed to and how we can bring their Indie into the world, you know our understanding of planning. Rapidly develop engine sees how we communicate effectively how we work as a team towards. You know find the Pacific Common Enterprise, you know how we Mentor people and bring them and develop Talent, you know, it's they are real, you know, real drivers now in sport business, you know, whatever it may be the Performing Arts education. It's a there's such a vast array of people that you work with. It's absolutely amazing like and out of all the groups of people you work with. These are certain sort of area or niche of people that you would say are like top drawer. I mean each each particular sort of sector has its own has its own challenges in its its own demands. I mean for me, I love working with education. I mean, I developed a program to work with children aged 11 to 16 who on the risk on the edge of permanent exclusion from the in-stream school. So they were disengaged with the classroom. They were disruptive there was behavioral issues, you know. Oh and it came down to basically, you know in some areas a lack of self-discipline a lack of focus. I like of ambition, you know, they'd lost self-belief, you know, they can stay away for themselves. Excuse me. So the military for the program I developed was to go into schools and working on. How do we improve aspirations out? Give back to people that motivation to succeed. I'll do we give back determination that self confidence that comes from, you know, being able to engage actively in a conversation to develop, you know, a lecture themselves and stand up in front of a group of their peers and teachers and deliver a five minute presentation to go out onto the field and participate in a sport activity that required teamwork communication skills, you know that whole ethos of no one gets left behind. Yeah, and and you know at the point at which they were they were coming to me, it's almost that there are a lost cause yeah, and that's not true. We just need to find a way of getting in. Yeah, of course and obviously they I was like great challenges going to all different schools. And that what would you say working with schools in particular with is the greatest challenge working with people of that age? It is getting them. It is sort of getting them to to leave the perception behind that everyone's forgot about them. And why should I bother because everyone's given up on me and you know in the area's I'm working, you know, there's areas of high unemployment people see that there's no hope that they're stuck in a rut that they're you know that they'll have to accept The cards they've been dealt and why should I have an education why you know, it hasn't helped anyone. So it's changing that mindset, you know, given them back that confidence that belief aspirations follow your dream means, you know that Warrior spirit that we all possess that you can achieve anything with four Curtis Drive determination. You know that the anything is possible in just don't give up on yourself. Yeah. I think the more people who can go into schools. I'm sure the listeners would agree, especially the in UK and more people can go into schools and deliver that kind of message to you know, try and Empower people of that, you know young age to show them that you know, everybody can be the best they can be and show them what slippery slope looks like. And hopefully get the message across as many of them as possible, you know, even if you are even if you're helping a handful of people, you know, you do it you're doing a great job on you. Well, my belief is if you can turn one life around yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you know, I mean, but yeah, the more the merrier and and again I use my I use my sort of background mean I was brought up in the in the heartland of the industrial Northeast of England, you know, and it was difficult. I wasn't particularly Ahmad academic at school. I kind of Stole my eggs in the basket with the military. I knew what I wanted to do from when I was 13 PSI was driven and focused so that to that end but you know, so I use the fact that I didn't leave school with any real academic qualifications, but I've spent the last 30 years and countless thousands of pounds trying to make up for that, you know try and do re educate myself and put myself back in in in in it in a competitive. Zones, you know to so it is saying that you know, don't don't give it all the way now. She'll spend the rest of your life trying to make it up. Yeah, and like you just pretty much hit the nail on the head there in and what the podcast all about which was why I was really Keen to get you on, you know, you've literally grab the bull by its horns and went out there to become the best version of yourself because of the journey that you've been on and you could click, you know, see where you want it to be. Yeah, I mean, you know, I didn't have a plan B. I mean there was no such concept back, you know, so I kind of like I said put my eggs in the basket, but you know, it was hard and it was a struggle and we've all been in the military, you know, and and then at every point in the military I did I wanted to be better. You know, I wanted to be in the Pathfinders I wanted to do with the things, you know, I spent a lot of time with J tan trials development parachute in you know, pushing the Trees of new Concepts new ideas and now, you know trying to educate myself because you know, I think as you get older The Thirst in that quest for knowledge and trying to be better, you know, it's still there. I know I feel it every day. Yeah, that's absolutely absolutely spot-on and I'm exactly the same. Person, you know like every day I wake up and I'm like, what can I do today? That is just a slight bit better than yesterday. It doesn't mean you know, I have to add 10 kilos to a bench press or anything, you know such significant, but I mean something as simple as just making a decision that's slightly different to what you would have done the day before which gives you a better outcome. Yeah, well, I mean a hundred percent. I mean, you know, I was lucky. I was fortunate. I got the opportunity to do the books, you know, and that gave me a thirst, you know, I know you know, I'm now thinking right put pen to paper trying to develop, you know, a serialization, you know, using my military experiences and using my Mayock subsequent experience to develop characters soy it is that you know you Like right if I've done it once I can do it again this time it can be better. So it is it is about about pushing forward, you know, and and also it's the Gratitude of what life in the military gave me, you know, it's been incredible. I mean, I take great pride in my appearance we all do we still polish our shoes. We still make our own beds. We still you know sew buttons on we still I you know what? Laws, which old washing machine. So we're still we're still living and we in with that tremendous Foundation that was given to was and that's what I'm trying to pass on to children as well. You know that I work with its independence self-reliance, you know at some point you're going to have to step away from your home life. And if you prepare now, you know, the shock of capture is going to be far less when you if you can look after yourself. Feed yourself wash your own clothes wash yourself. Take care of your personal belongings. It sets us up for Life. Yeah hundred percent and I'm going to have to look around my hotel room. Now the way it's where I'm staying up at the Northeast and the the cleaners must have come into my room this morning and left of the massive smile on our face because my room is absolutely spotless before I left Tyrion to go to this event. So they're exactly that The military inside isn't it got made my bed measure. It was straight everything resigned. Yeah, absolutely that what last one I still question Steve before before we wrap on the show just to top off of see all the amazing like sort of inspiration and Nuggets that you've given us. I asked this of every single one of my guests and the answers always very but I think it's a fantastic question and it really really gets the guests of like thinking we've got an imaginary time sheet. Machine and you're allowed to send a little Post-It note in there with a couple of bullet points back in time to 15 year old Steve what bullet points would you send back in time to your 15 year old self? And I'd have two columns. I think I'd have in the air column would be continue what you're doing. I wouldn't give myself the answer whether I was going to get in the Army on I would just say continue what you're doing. Okay, and then in the B column, I'd see it, but don't forget your studies. Because for me as I said, I put every egg in the basket, I didn't have a plan B. I need collected my study. I laughed and joked about it and Skip lessons and played true and you know went back home that night and in a run around the block and you know, I bought a backpack bot desert boots and but dr. Martin Boots and went running, but you know, I have my studies were Forsaken and I'd say to myself stay with plan a it's working. But don't forget yet the academic side of life because it's took me 30 years to correct their mistakes. Yeah, absolutely. Fantastic and I like the columns thing. None of the guests of actually use columns before it's very much. This has been nice trick bullet points at school and I hear exactly what you're saying. I speak to so many people now that are having to redo exams especially maths to just get to where they want to get because it's like that Pinnacle Point in their career, but they need certain qualifications first gets the next level and they all said the same thing shit. I wish I'd like, you know screwed another school got my head. It's pretty much the same thing. Every single person says. Yeah, I mean I think you know that education, you know competition. I mean when I was growing up competition academically wasn't sore wasn't looked upon because you know again from the industrial Heartland of the Northeast you had two choices you went into the steel industry went into the chemical industry and the majority of people I went to school with did either or some did both wear but now the world Is so competitive it's or it's evolved. It's changing. It's fast. It's very Dynamic, you know, so even with with significant educational qualification just it's still a heck of a fight. Yeah, and I think now the the stress and that and the pressures that are placed on young people at school is significant Now, isn't it? Yeah, it really is and just just in general knowledge and the things you need to know now as youngsters quite quite significant to what we had to know when we were younger. Absolutely. I mean, I'm I'm probably about another half a term or it's him away from being no longer able to help my 12 year old daughter because she's gone beyond what I know in mathematics, you know, I've got about another six months left in me. And then I'm and then I've reached my limit of exploitation. I think yeah, but Masters always the very much my strong point in still is but like science. I like I leave that to my wife. Because she is an absolute science boffin and has worked in education in science for a number of years up until recently. So my my son's very much turns to her when it comes to stuff up. Yeah, get to play to your strengths - yeah, exactly. Well Steve it's been actually remarkable typing on the show, especially if you share your story with the listeners about that heroic battle you had in Sierra Leone when it when times are at their worst out there. Thank you so much for coming and sharing that and sharing about everything you're doing right now. I think is absolutely amazing that you're going into schools. As well as obviously with military departments and corporate sort of corporate area to you know to share your wisdom wisdom and like help people improve on their leadership skills management skills and just the general characters as a whole. I think it's absolutely remarkable. And yeah, I've really really, you know, like to thank you for taking the time out to join us on the show today. It's been it's been a pleasure and obviously to reciprocate, you know, The stuff that you're doing as well and you know, there's some great stuff out there, you know that motivation that getting people to be better versions of themselves to sort of, you know to Never Surrender their value. So it's great work as well what you're doing here. Thanks Steve. I really appreciate that guys girls there you have it. I really hope you enjoyed the show. I really hope you took away a load load of gold and information that Steve is shared with you and you really enjoyed. His is a fantastic story about especially about what happened in Sierra Leone those few years ago. If you want to read more about it, obviously get into Steve's books. I'll be sure to put them in the show notes as well as if you'd like to contact Steve. I'll put all his website details in the show notes as well. Ladies and gents, if you enjoyed the show, please take the time out to leave a five star review. It really does mean the world to the show and it means that more people get here in inspiring messages from the guests. I have one every week until next time from me AJ Roberts go out there and be the best version of you.
It's May 2000, Sierra Leone - Just 26 Pathfinder soldiers were dropped into a remote jungle village, expected to be a simple 48-hour operation. This wasn't to be the case and very soon became a fierce 16-day siege against 2000 rebel attackers and facing certain death! For his leadership and actions during the battle, Steve Heaney MC was awarded the Military Cross, becoming the first Non Commissioned Officer in the unit’s history to receive this decoration and at just twenty he was the youngest ever member of X-Platoon. Today on The Best Version Of You show, Steve recalls what he was feeling leading up to this infamous battle and how he fought tooth and nail to get him and his colleagues out of it........ when help was not coming! This battle lead to Steve's first book Operation Mayhem and his subsequent book; X Platoon. Nowadays Steve travels the UK running leadership and management sessions varying from large schools to elite sports teams including national level. Steve teaches what it really means to be the best version of yourself and why the pursuit of personal development is so important in which ever walk of life you may live. You can find Steve mainly on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-heaney-mc-43267526/ and via his website for enquiries: www.xplatoon.com ** If you enjoyed today's episode please take the time to leave a 5* review. It really helps the show reach more and more people each week and the inspirational messages our fantastic guests have to share. Thank you! 