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🎙 Lessons in Leadership – Episode 1

In this first episode, I sit down with Harry Mackarness, a former British Army Officer who commissioned into the Paras, had to transfer to the Light Dragoons, and has since become a voice for resilience and mental health.

We talk about:
• Why he joined the Army
• The reality of training at Sandhurst and Catterick
• What it means to lead soldiers today
• How injury and mental health challenges shaped his career
• Why the Army still matters for young people in 2025

Preparation for AOSB & Sandhurst  👉 https://linktr.ee/thearmybloke

In this episode, I sit down with Sam Perrin — former Infantry Platoon Commander and later a Special Forces Officer — to break down the reality of leadership, officer training, and operating on the front line.

We cover everything future officers need to understand before AOSB, Sandhurst, or stepping into a platoon for the first time:

🔹 His AOSB experience and early leadership lessons
🔹 What Sandhurst really teaches (and what it doesn’t)
🔹 Life as a new Platoon Commander
🔹 Serving on Op HERRICK 6 – casualties, high-pressure leadership & fighting the Taliban
🔹 How to build trust with your soldiers
🔹 Passing Special Forces Selection
🔹 Sam’s advice to the next generation of Officers & anyone considering SF

If you’re preparing for AOSB, heading to Sandhurst, or simply want to understand what leadership really looks like in the British Army, this is a must-listen.

📌 Connect with me

Instagram: @thearmybloke
YouTube: The Army Bloke

Former Army Commando Officer & Minister for Veterans Affairs Johnny Mercer joins me for an honest, unfiltered conversation about war, leadership, and what really shapes you as a young officer.
From passing the Commando Course to surviving Taliban contact after being split from his patrol, this episode goes deep into the reality of soldiering.

We discuss:

• Why Johnny joined the British Army
• Completing the Commando Course
• Deploying on three operational tours of Afghanistan
• Facing the Taliban in close combat
• The moment he was cut off from his patrol and relying on a gunship to survive
• Losing soldiers, leadership pressure, and the cost of command
• Why he went into politics and fought for veterans
• The moral component of leadership, humility, and standards
• His message for the next generation of officers and soldiers

Whether you're preparing for AOSB, heading to Sandhurst, or simply interested in military leadership, this is one of the most powerful and insightful episodes we’ve recorded.

🎙️ About the Podcast

Lessons in Leadership explores what it really takes to lead — in the military, in training, and in life. Featuring soldiers, officers, veterans, and leaders with real experience on the ground.

Connect with Dan (The Army Bloke)

Instagram: @thearmybloke
 TikTok: @thearmybloke
 YouTube: The Army Bloke
 LinkedIn: Dan Russell

Across 24 years in the infantry—from Northern Ireland to Iraq, and five tours in Afghanistan—Steve Armon learned to lead where it counts: under pressure, with people who need you to get it right. Steve walks us through the real journey from private to regimental sergeant major and the gritty lessons that stick. The result is a candid guide for young officers and NCOs who want to earn trust, fight well, and care for their teams without losing their edge.

We dive into the hardest promotion jump (private to lance corporal), why teaching at Harrogate and Brecon makes you sharper, and what the Belize jungle revealed about Platoon Commanders’ Division: fit, hungry officers matched with aggressive, experienced seniors can be dynamite when aligned. Steve explains how respect for officers grew as he watched them go from interview to running a fighting organisation in 18 months, and why “nobody wants to see an officer fail” became a mantra.

Operationally, we break down HERRICK 6: robust pre-deployment training, an unapologetic return-fire policy, and the art of spotting burnout before it breaks a good soldier. Steve’s RSM years focused on output, not optics—from an “ally parade” that surfaced field-ready kit choices to quiet conversations that fixed morale faster than any memo. We talk bayonets and close combat reality, the last 100 metres belonging to infantry leaders, and the power of explaining the why so soldiers own the plan, not just the orders.

Steve closes with six distilled leadership lessons: don’t let perfect kill good; study concepts together; never turn down a beer or a brew when someone needs to talk; lead without isolation; protect, celebrate, and support your people; and remember it’s not what you’ve done, it’s what you do next. If you’re an aspiring officer, a new platoon commander, or an NCO sharpening your craft, this conversation gives you clear, field-tested ways to lead with humility, aggression, and care.

Enjoyed the conversation? Subscribe, share with a mate, and leave a rating—then tell us which lesson you’ll put into practice first.

The first step onto the parade square feels like stepping into a myth. Then the kit list hits, the pace spikes, and you realise leadership is a team sport. Dan sits down with Robin White—infantry officer, veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and former Sandhurst company commander—to pull back the curtain on what actually makes a good officer when the plan breaks, the radios crackle, and you’re on the clock.

Robin traces his path from family legacy to scholarship board, through a battalion hardened by Basra, and into the messy reality of learning in public. Two corporals asking to critique his orders. A mis‑landed helicopter forcing a river crossing on the fly. Mentoring the ANA alongside a Danish battlegroup, managing language gaps and competing priorities. A 36‑hour IED clearance cut short when a high‑threat engineer commander lost his legs and a Danish interpreter was killed. And the day a single shot hit his hand as the ANA led out—proof that what matters most is how your team responds when you need them.

Back at Sandhurst, Robin shaped future officers around four simple pillars: betterment, fellowship, sincerity, enjoyment. He explains why choosing a regiment starts with the soldiers you’ll lead and the mess you’ll live in, not a glossy posting list. He shares where cadets often go wrong—ego at the start line, switching off when not in appointment—and what separates the standouts: volunteering as runners and recce support, building models, absorbing feedback, and helping others improve. Commissioning isn’t the finish line; it’s the waypoint before real leadership begins.

If you’re eyeing AOSB, grinding through exercises, or about to take your first platoon, this conversation gives practical, hard‑won advice you can use today. Be a sponge. Ask for help. Look after your people before you need them. And find the joke in the mud—it keeps you human when it counts.

Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share it with a mate, and leave a quick review so others can find it. What’s the one pillar you’ll work on this week?

We explore how the Army Officer Selection Board truly works, why potential beats pedigree, and how authenticity, fitness, and feedback shape success. Jim shares lessons from Sandhurst, early command, operations in Northern Ireland and Iraq, and his vantage point as an AOSB Vice President.

• selection focused on potential not polish
• myths about “classic officer” backgrounds challenged
• sandhurst shocks and adapting fast
• technical depth for young gunners at phase two
• the officer–sergeant partnership as a command pair
• operations shaping judgment, trust and decentralised command
• inside Westbury: roles of VPs and group leaders
• using feedback between briefing and main board
• common pitfalls: weak fitness, acting, overthinking
• planex basics: DST, risk and simple, reasoned plans
• how teams gel and why evidence of contribution matters
• serving soldiers and non‑traditional candidates encouraged

If this content is useful, please do click like, click subscribe. You can click the bell so you can be notified every time I upload a video. If you’ve got questions, put them in the comments. I’ll do my very, very best to get back to you. And if I don’t know, I’ll try and find out and get back to you anyway.

We talk with David Hymarsh about what the Army Professionally Qualified Officer route really looks like for doctors, from AOSB and Sandhurst to phase two training and life in unit. We pull out the leadership lessons that matter most: humility, speaking to your audience, leaning on experienced NCOs and taking mental health seriously. 

• How AOSB feels for medical students
• What the short Sandhurst PQO course covers and why it exists 
• What phase two Medical Officer training adds beyond university and the NHS 
• the reality of arriving at unit as a captain while still feeling new 
• Day-to-day work as a Medical Officer: sick parade, occupational medicine, deployability and advising commanders 
• Learning from corporals and sergeants with deep operational experience 
• How military mental health support works best when the clinician understands life in green 
• Deploying as a medical officer: malaria, vaccines, heat, allies and making decisions with limited information 
• Leaving the Army, becoming a GP partner and using military skills to build online education and mentoring 

Let me know what you think of this episode and don't forget to subscribe

Plans fail. People freeze. Information is incomplete. That’s when leadership stops being a theory and becomes a decision. 

I sit down with Paul Nanson, former Infantry Officer, Major General, and a previous commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, to talk about what actually holds a team together when the night does not go to plan.

We start at the beginning: why he joined, what Sandhurst felt like in the moment, and what he learned the hard way after failing early selection and coming back stronger. 

If you’re preparing for AOSB, thinking about Sandhurst, or weighing the graduate versus non-graduate route, you’ll hear a grounded view of what matters most: purposeful preparation, fitness without self-inflicted injury, and trusting a system designed to identify potential rather than perfection.

From there we get into operational leadership and mission command. Paul shares how rehearsals and wargaming are not box-ticking, but a way to create shared understanding so that junior leaders can act decisively when chaos hits. We also unpack how leadership changes as you rise through the ranks, why senior leaders must work harder to stay connected to reality, and how Army leadership doctrine and the Centre for Army Leadership help make development consistent across all ranks.

We close on life after service: the shock of losing daily military community, what surprises him about civilian leadership development, and why veteran mental health support must make it easier to reach out early. If you take one thing away, let it be this: do the job in front of you well, build habits of excellence, and the next step tends to follow.

Subscribe for more conversations on military leadership, Sandhurst preparation, and the transition to civilian life, and if you found this useful, share it and leave a review.

The fastest way to spot shaky leadership is to watch what happens when people are cold, tired, and under pressure. That’s where the real habits show up, for better or worse.

We sit down with Ollie, a former British Army major with 20 years’ service, to unpack what actually builds strong junior leaders from Sandhurst onwards. He shares blunt lessons from RoCo, why “negative motivation” collapses fast, and how fitness isn’t just about passing tests, it’s about buying yourself time to think. We also get practical on planning: why plans fail, why planning still matters, and how better courses of action make you more adaptable on the ground and in civilian life.

From there we go into career reality: choosing roles, understanding promotion systems, dealing with setbacks, and learning to ask smarter questions rather than pretending you know everything. Ollie explains what bosses really want from new platoon commanders: be thoughtful, bring character and care, and work hard while enjoying the journey.

Finally, we connect leadership development with intelligent self-protection through Ollie’s business, Absolute Defence, including conflict debt, productivity, and small security habits that make you safer and more effective when travelling for work.

If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with someone who’s stepping into leadership, and leave a review on Spotify or your podcast app.

The moment you realise it is not “a big adventure” anymore can arrive fast: a new job title, a live threat, and soldiers looking at you for decisions you did not expect to be making. I sit down with Owain Mulligan, a reservist officer whose winding path through a gap year commission, the OTC, and the Army Reserve turns into operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and a career shaped by responsibility.

We unpack what it is actually like to mobilise as a reservist, including the strange incentives around volunteering, the intensity of pre-deployment training, and the brutal jump from training theory to troop command. Owain talks candidly about Basra on Operation Telic, the shock of a Lynx shootdown, IDF, and the hard-to-explain anger that can surface when you face mortality for the first time. We also dig into leadership where it really counts: NCO trust, competence under pressure, and how good seniors respond when a young officer makes an error on a strike op.

From there, the story moves into specialist capability and the Defence School of Languages, including 15 months of Dari and Pashto and how language skills can shape an Afghanistan deployment. We finish with Owain's book The Accidental Soldier, why the ending turns reflective, and why he sends his royalties to War Child to support children affected by conflict.

If you get value from this conversation, subscribe on YouTube or follow on Spotify, share it with someone considering the Army Reserve, and leave a review so more people can find it.

One moment you’re pushing a team over a high pass in Nepal, the next you’re struggling to breathe and waiting on a helicopter because your lungs are filling with fluid. That’s where Major Tori Allison takes us, and it’s only one part of a bigger story about British Army leadership, resilience, and the quiet competence that keeps people safe.

We start at the beginning: choosing the Army at 14 with no military connections, failing Regular Commissions Board at 17, then rebuilding through university, the Officer Training Corps, and hands-on army experience that makes Sandhurst click. From the Royal Logistic Corps training pipeline to leading a troop in Germany and supporting operations, we talk about what the job really demands: trust, emotional intelligence, and the willingness to handle welfare problems you never see in the glossy recruiting videos.

We also tackle the realities of serving as a woman in a male-dominated organisation, what has genuinely improved, and what still needs moral courage from leaders. Then we go inside AOSB with an ex group leader’s eye: the red flags, the behaviours that show real influence, and how to recover after a bad serial instead of spiralling.

If you care about Army careers, Sandhurst, AOSB preparation, women in the military, adventure training, expedition planning, or how to lead under pressure, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

You can pass every test at Sandhurst and still hit the real shock on day one of troop command: sometimes you simply do not have the answer. I sit down with Major Catherine Henderson, a serving Royal Signals officer with a seriously varied career, to talk about what leadership looks like when the textbook ends and your soldiers need you to be steady, human, and useful.

We walk through her journey from Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College to Sandhurst, then into the Royal Signals, with stops along the way in recruiting, instructing, and strategic work in Main Building. If you are weighing up cap badges or staring down the regimental selection board process, we get practical: why unit visits matter, how a simple five-year plan can sharpen your thinking, and why choosing based on one “legend” instructor can send you to the wrong place.

We also bust a common myth: Royal Signals is not just the CIS wing and radios. We dig into what communicators actually do, how technical soldiers become SMEs, why officers must translate complex kit issues for non-technical commanders, and where cyber, electronic warfare, and emerging AI work fits. Some of the most important moments are personal: building trust with a sceptical soldier, leading through vulnerability, and handling mental health crises with care and professionalism, plus a candid view on serving as a woman in defence.

Subscribe for more honest military career chats, share this with someone choosing their path, and leave a review if it helped. What part of leadership do you wish someone had told you earlier?

Most people imagine the Army Reserve as a light commitment and a bit of adventure on the side. The truth is sharper: it is leadership in compressed time, service with real trade-offs, and a second career you have to actively manage. We sit down with Major Ash Bardwaj to unpack what Reserve life actually looks like when you are also building a civilian career as a travel journalist, defence journalist, author and speaker.

We get into the motivations that pull people towards service, how purpose changes over time, and why “fighting for a government” is rarely the reason anyone joins. Ash talks candidly about joining first as a trooper to test the commitment, commissioning via Sandhurst, and the practical reality of being a platoon commander when you cannot rely on coercion because people can simply stop turning up. We also cover AOSB preparation, controlling the controllables, and the leadership habits that matter most when you are developing others with limited time.

A standout section explores how the British Army Reserve can leverage civilian expertise, from storytelling to media operations and defence communications, including lessons from Op Rescript during COVID and the challenge of disinformation. We finish with reflections on the Centre for Army Leadership work, the value of structured feedback, and the real advantages and disadvantages of reservist life, including skill fade and the experience gap as you promote.

If you find this useful, subscribe, share it with someone considering the Reserves, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Number 10 calls, and suddenly you’re standing in a hangar full of drones with seven and a half minutes to question the Prime Minister one-on-one. That moment is where confidence and imposter syndrome collide, and it kicks off a wider reflection on what it really means to back yourself as a leader when the stakes rise and the room gets senior fast.

We trace the story back to March 2020, when a lockdown bet in Catterick led to a GoPro, a first upload, and then the “Civilian to Soldier” idea built to help recruits and officer candidates arrive better prepared. The growth is quick, but so is the pushback. We talk about the pressure that follows when the chain of command gets involved, why one commanding officer’s willingness to take the flak matters, and how consistent, responsible content can move from “take it down” to formal recognition for outstanding service and recruitment impact.

From there, it’s the messy middle: leaving the British Army, trying on a new identity, building the Future Leader Academy, and taking criticism from people who never bothered to understand the intent. We also share why starting a podcast becomes a force multiplier for leadership development, bringing in influential guests and lessons that reach the next generation preparing for AOSB, Sandhurst, and early command.

The week finishes with something even bigger than career milestones: news of becoming a dad, and the three values he wants to pass on and practise now resilience, self-belief, and having a voice. If you care about military leadership, defence, officer selection, and building confidence under pressure, you’ll take something practical from this. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave us a review: which of the three traits do you need to work on most?

You can say you want the Parachute Regiment in one sentence. Earning the trust to lead in it takes years, and it starts with the part you can’t talk your way around: the standard you can prove on the day. Our guest, Thomo, is a serving British Army Major with 15 years in the Parachute Regiment, and he’s frank about what selection, P Company, and battalion life actually demand from officers who want to be credible with soldiers.

We get into why so many people express interest early, then fall away once competition becomes real. We break down why fitness is used as the cleanest measure of preparation, why “minimum standard” is only the buy-in, and why soldiers are not athletes who peak perfectly on a single day. Tom shares a raw account of doing P Company before Sandhurst, picking up red cards, and what changes when you stop hoping for motivation and start relying on discipline and deliberate mindset.

From there, we zoom out into leadership and command: the pyramid of fitness, conceptual competence, and moral strength; what mission command looks like when it’s a two-way conversation rather than abandonment; and why the platoon commander and platoon sergeant relationship can make or break a platoon. We also talk about the loneliness of command, unpopular decisions, and responsibility to the mission alongside responsibility to the soldiers now and the people they become later.

If you’re preparing for AOSB, Sandhurst, Brecon, P Company, or your first platoon, you’ll leave with clear, practical direction and a sharper view of what “professional standards” really means. Subscribe, share this with someone chasing the Para path, and leave a review with the one standard you refuse to compromise on.