A Staff Officer in Brigade Headquarters
Captain - Royal Signals
Life as a staff officer is not a scenario that any potential officer is likely to be exposed to in recruitment literature or at a seminar. However, all officers will at regular intervals throughout their career be employed in a broad spectrum of staff appointments. Making the  transition from being the Second-in-Command of an Armoured Signal Squadron to my current appointment as SO3 G2/G3 Operations and Training at Headquarters 1 (United Kingdom) Signal Brigade has certainly proved to be an eye opener. Employment in an 'office job' in the traditional sense requires a strong sense of duty meaning long hours and at times, a great deal of pressure. Personal administration is very important and one must learn to prioritise quickly. In order to succeed, a staff officer must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and on paper. This enables him to build relationships across all arms and services in a joint and multinational environment, often requiring patience and tact.
Working at staff has meant that I am regularly involved in key decision making cycles and having a great deal of influence over people's lives. It is extremely important to remind oneself of this fact on a regular basis; failure to task or pass information in an effective and timely manner will mean it is the soldier on the ground that suffers.
For all of the effort required there are also a lot of rewards. Firstly, the opportunity to develop a depth of knowledge about the armed forces holistically is excellent which will always benefit one's career. Secondly the sense of achievement from seeing a plan come to fruition and implemented by units is also an exciting prospect. For example, in my role as the Brigade trainer I have been responsible for the Pre-Deployment Training of all Brigade personnel deploying to Afghanistan. This training has included everything from basic military skills and techniques to theatre specific trade skills for over 1500 multinational personnel.
Working in the staff environment comes with a very steep learning curve. However, the ability to 'add value' to the decision making and implementation processes is extremely refreshing and will certainly keep me busy until my next appointment at Regimental Duty.
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