Jonathan Tweedie

And you need to recognize that you're not the finished product, but you've had enough training and development to be competent.

And then you need to learn how to become good.

Now, I wasn't an infantry platoon commander.

I disappeared straight out of Sandhurst to Northern Ireland.

I learned from listening to the people around me.

The beautiful thing about being a young army officer, particularly in a combat zone, is the expertise you have around you is phenomenal.

So you will have a platoon sergeant who's probably got 20 years of expertise of doing this.

who you need to listen to, you need to understand, you need to involve in your decision-making at all times.

You'll have a company start major who's even more senior who will be able to bring in and give you advice.

You've got your fellow officers, you've got your senior officers.

It becomes a community which is there to support and build you.

But on the ground, there's only one decision-maker.

And it's you, and you've got to be decisive enough to be able to make those decisions.

But to have drawn in enough information so that you understand the decision you're going to make.

And then agility.

So I think the other thing Sandhurst teaches you is that old Mike Tyson quote, isn't it?

That everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the face.

You get punched in the face on a daily basis.

And you have to adapt.

And you need to be flexible in the way you adapt.