Page 28 - Flaming Cauldron – Issue 61
P. 28
ACC ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
WO1 Sarah Cox – Home Command –
Command Sergeant Major
By Sarah Cox
I joined the Army as an Apprentice Chef in I pushed my luck and requested to support the
Sept 1997 and was the last Apprentice Intake to Army Culinary Arts Team with the famous Billy
complete all basic training, education, and chef Barrie at the helm. Over those years, the team
training at St Omer Barracks. After training saw mentored, supported, and developed myself, and
a posting to 33 Engineer Regt in Saffron Walden for that I will always be grateful as it helped to
as a Private, 2 Close Support Regiment RLC as a steer me onto the career path I have taken today.
LCpl and 26 Royal Artillery Regiment as a Cpl, One pinnacle moment, and I can clearly say I do
with both posting situated in Gutersloh, Germany. owe my instruction career, and career thereafter, to
During those three postings saw Operations tours this man, the chief instructor, Mike Allan. He saw
in Sierra Leone, Bosnia, UN Cyprus, and Iraq on something in me that I personally did not see at the
Operation Telic in 2003, and exercises to Malaysia, time, the potential to become an instructor at the
Kenya, and good old Salisbury Plain. school. He persuaded me to attend the potential
Whilst at St Omer, I took part in the 1998 instructors’ course in 2006, of which I was success-
Salon Culinary held at the home of Army Catering fully selected to be an instructor of the basic chef
in the K2 kitchen. The evening classes, and the course in 2007. Part of being an instructor in the
opportunity as a young chef to complete against training environment, you are required to attend
the Sisters Services was the start of my compe- the Defence Train the Trainer course at the then
tition catering career. Fortunately, I was able and Army Training and Recruiting Division (ARTD)
supported to continue the culinary competitions Staff Leadership School (ASLS) in Pirbright.
through my first three posting, achieving Army It taught all basic training and trade training instruc-
Junior Chef of the Year in 2003. While compet- tors the art of coaching, mentoring, instructional
ing in this competition, more in the rank of Cpl, WO1 Sarah Cox techniques, and the do’s and don’ts in a training
environment. To some it was known as the ‘pink
and fluffy’ course; to me, it open my eyes to being
the best instructor I could be for my students, and
it was a course that I enjoyed so much, that after my
3 years as a catering instructor, and a Sgt posting to
1 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment (PWRR) and
the Unit Catering Manager in the British Army
Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) as a SSgt, I went
back to ASLS as a Syndicator Instructor.
During my time as a SSgt at ASLS, I learnt
the skills of coaching and mentoring, and achieved
my Diploma to Teach in the Lifelong Learning
Sector (DTLLS), which I followed up by com-
pleting and earning Qualified Teacher Status
(QTS) in the Adult Learning Sector. Part of the
role at ASLS was to deliver the Train the Trainer
course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
(RMAS) to all the new SSgt/CSgt, Capt instruc-
tor and members of staff. It was during one course,
that Colonel Dennis Vincent who was Colonel
Training at the time, approached me about taking
the job of the WO2 Coaching Advisory Team
(CAT). The CAT’s main responsibility consisted
of delivering the assurance for the teaching prac-
tises, running the induction course for all members
of staff, and deliver coaching to OCdts and staff
if needed. At RMAS, I completed my degree in
Leadership and Management with First Class
Honours from the Newcastle Business School,
Northumbria University, while supporting the
development and delivery of the Army Leadership
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