What has been your greatest achievement since leaving the Military?

When i joined the Army, i had no formal qualifications, but after getting med discharged which put me in a wheelchair as an incomplete paraplegic, in 2007 i went to South Africa with the Douglas bader Foundation, where after six weeks i was able to take off in a light aircraft, fly a circuit on my own, and then land the plane. When i returned home i came to the conclusion that if i can do that, i can still have the same aspirations as everyone else. Therefore i went to the OU, and last year i got a foundation degree in business studies and i am now working towards my Linux certification; and then to add the final layer of ice on the cake, i just landed a 6 month contract working with Early service leaves, who for medical reasons have had to leave the armed forces. ...

When I left the Royal Navy as a Radio Supervisor I had go back to the bottom rung of the ladder working as an administrator, In ten years I I was back as a middle manager after being promoted to a Fleet and Assets Manager responsible for a large fleet of vehicles and assets of the company. ...

.... for me a few things all linked together, but really emmigrating to South Africa, it was quite a blind jump of faith in many ways, trusting in other and myself. I think I was well prepared from my service life..... just one more posting to contend with, and I get to live where I want, stay as long as I want and work where/when I want! i came here on a 6 month tour in 2002 and the rest as they say is history....... Simon in Johannesburg. ...

Hi mel, reading your goals/personal endeavour since leaving the Forces has put my achievements in to the bracket as "insignificant"! I am a firm believer that you get out of life what you put in it no matter what barriers/challenges ahead of you. Your situation and more importantly the way you are dealing with it is testimony to that thought process. I and others are really proud of your achievements and wish you well with your new contract and hope they extend it to full time. Very best regards Graham ...

Graham Huge thanks fella for your kind words, of encouragement, really did appreciate it Have a good weekend Warmest Regards Mel ...

I was going to mention my own achievments, pretty paltry after reading yours Mel - so I won't! Well done, so worthwhile a job too....

Nice information, I really appreciate the way you presented.Thanks for sharing.....

Before I tell you mine, I must also say how much I admire Mel as well. We need more people like you in the world. Great inspiration. My Two greatest achievements since leaving the forces were firstly achieving a 2:1 degree in Communications Engineering without ANY 'O' or 'A' levels at all, but studying hard for FOUR hard years to Prove to the medical board of survey that they were WRONG in medically discharging me. Which they were! I am now a fully qualified Communications Engineer but sadly out of work. My second achievement, more recently, was trekking across the Andes in Peru to a height of 4215 metres to reach the ancient ruins or Machu Picchu near Cusco. My First Ever holiday abroad, i.e. not with the forces and worth every penny spent on it. Damn hard work, physically and mentally demanding, but well worth ALL the hard work and training put in. Would I do it again,....you're damn right I would!!!...

After 22 years in RAF I felt that the 'resettlement' facility was outdated, had no relationship to outside life and industry and was managed by current serving officers that really had not been through the hoops. It did not tell you of the strength of opposition to servicemen/women who were applying for positions in companies. I have had cases of "you could do my job and your not getting it", to what "would they know about the role as they are only used to guns", through to feeling threatened because of our range of skills and experience. That was 17 years ago and I am still coming across it!...