News

October 8th 2018

Delivering adventure training aboard

Pat Hoey RMR Weissmies Traverse

Corporal Pat Hoey RMR taking on the Weissmies Traverse

Delivering adventure training is not what a Royal Marine from Nottingham signed up to do, but has embraced the challenge to travel to locations around the world to teach novices and experienced personnel.

Corporal Pat Hoey serves with the Royal Marines Reserve and joined the Nottingham Detachment around nine years ago where at that time he was a student. 

However, being a keen sports person he was excited to be offered an opportunity to work at the Naval Outdoor Centre in Germany on a full-time reserve service contract and decided to leave his old life behind to follow his ambition of becoming an adventure training instructor.

Pat Hoey Strahlengrat possible cover image

Corporal Pat Hoey climbing Strahlengrat

Pat explained: “I had the opportunity to move aboard presented to me almost by accident as I wasn’t looking for a new job. There was a position available at the Naval Outdoor Centre as an adventure training instructor and I decided this was too good an opportunity to pass up so 10 days later I found myself driving out to Germany with all of my possessions. Here I quickly took part in some ski training and later in the Silveretta multi-day ski tour in Austria with the staff.”

Since this time, Pat has helped to deliver a variety of outdoor training programmes to students including climbing, biking and kayaking as well as developing his own skiing skills.

Pat continued: “I’m now more than three years into my contract and have not regretted my decision to move at all. I have developed a range of ski qualifications I can take back and deliver to the wider corps and have been able to deliver activities to a range of audiences using my new qualifications.

“Whilst this is not a conventional role for a reservist to fill my passion for adventure training allowed me to expand my horizons. The Royal Marines Reserve has invested in me and I have been allowed to develop myself during my placement to become widely useful at the centre delivering a range of training to the wider Naval Service.” 

“Whilst this is not a conventional role for a reservist to fill my passion for adventure training allowed me to expand my horizons."