Mac McGregor
Area Commander, West Midlands Fire Service

I recently had the privilege of being part of SaBRE's visit programme. I went to Norway to visit the Royal Marine Reserves who were taking part in Exercise Hairspring 2008. Immediately I could see that when operating in an environment of minus 15 degrees it is vital to have the basic skills of communication, teamwork and leadership.

As an employer of Reservists, I was really impressed to see the confidence and communication skills of these young men and women, and their ability to socially interact no matter the audience or company. I saw very quickly the benefits of someone like this coming back into the workplace with additional life skills, humour, confidence, motivation and self-discipline.

Invaluable support

One of things I will take back is 'can we do more' to support our Reservists both in supporting their training commitments and support when they are mobilised to an operational theatre. The other main learning point is to make the most of the talent being developed by the Reserve Forces and exploit this back in the workplace. My advice is simple - go and see what they do, you will be very impressed!

As employers, we make a small sacrifice but we get an excellent return.