Sam commissioned from Sandhurst in 2005 and then completed the Platoon Commanders Battle Course. He arrived at 1 Royal Anglian and took command of 10 Platoon C (Essex ) Company on day one of TESSEX which was a large test exercise conducted prior to being operationally signed off, this meant he got three weeks in the field with the blokes straight away.

Sam then moved on to a full year of Pre Deployment Training (PDT) including 6 arduous weeks in Kenya which culminated in deploying on Operation Herrick 6 in April of 2007 for 6 months. 10 Platoon deployed with 40 blokes and flew home with 24.

Sam Finished platoon command and successfully attempted UKSF selection serving in 22 SAS as a troop commander for 3 years.

Sam went on to deploy on numerous sensitive Operations and Exercises all over the globe during his time with Special Forces but ultimately Sam considers Herrick 6 to comfortably be the most enjoyable, rewarding and formative 6 months of his life.

Sam left the Army in 2013 and has had a successful transition out of the army via the University of Oxford business school and into 11 years at BT Group in various large leadership and commercial roles.

In part 1 of this 2 part episode, Sam and Steve talk in depth about Leadership in Combat and their personal journeys throughout an arduous 6 months in Afghanistan.