Degree: Mechanical Engineering at University Of Portsmouth
I started BRNC Dartmouth September 2021 where I conducted 30 weeks of training including 4 weeks at sea onboard HMS Prince Of Wales conducting a large-scale NATO exercise and having a run ashore in Iceland.
After commissioning, I was sent to HMS SULTAN in Gosport to begin System Engineers Management Course (SEMC) for Marine Engineering. On this course we study the basics of engineering in the Royal Navy and as a Marine Engineer Submariner (MESM), we begin to study systems found on board RN submarines.
After completing the first phase of training at SULTAN I was sent to HMNB Clyde to join HMS ARTFUL in order to achieve my Basic Submarine Qualification (BSQ) and obtain my dolphins, qualifying as a submariner.
My time on ARTFUL was spent at sea for nearly 3 months gaining huge insight into the role submarines play in the Royal Navy. After gaining my dolphins I had the opportunity to further increase my understanding of the systems of board and gain Cat D qualification. The first step on the pipeline to being Cat A qualified.
Once my 6 months on board HMS ARTFUL was finished, it was back to SULTAN to completed Nuclear Reactor Course (NRC). This is a 6-month course learning the ins and outs of nuclear reactors whilst simultaneously completing a post graduate diploma in Nuclear Reactor Technology.
Completing this course is considered a large milestone and one which allows you to progress further in the MESM pipeline. After NRC we continued to study more systems on board submarines, focusing now on those which facilitate reactor operations. Finally graduating from SULTAN alongside our Australian counterparts, part of the AUKUS programme, it was finally time to join a platform as a junior marine engineering officer.
I am currently assigned to HMS AGAMEMNON which is in build at BAE SYSTEMS in Barrow in Furness. This brings with it the added challenge of understanding how we as the Royal Navy help transition a submarine from the early stages of construction to sailing up to Faslane and into active service.
Currently I am working towards becoming Cat A qualified which will be the end of my training and making me trained strength. From here you progress through the AMEO jobs on board with the opportunity to come back to a platform as DMEO in the future.
I joined the Royal Navy to work onboard submarines because of the unique opportunities they give, especially as MESMs where we get to work with a nuclear reactor something that would take a long time to achieve in civilian industry.
