Rob Wood is married to Karen and lives in Gillingham. He is an HGV & PCV Driver for Babcock Defence at 1 RSME Brompton Barracks, driving all types of civilian and military vehicles and equipment in support of Royal Engineer soldiers training.
He has been a Cadet Forces Adult Volunteer (CFAV) for 36 years and holds the post of County DofE Officer.
Rob is also the Chairman of a DofE charity that he set up in the Medway Towns, assisting young people who are unable to access DofE through the normal route, and assisting schools with the DofE, especially expeditions!
Rob was a cadet from the ages of 13-17, he served in the Regular Royal Engineers for 11 years and in the TA Royal Signals for one year.
He started as a cadet aged 13, his father transferred from the TA to the ACF two years later, his mother and sister ran the NAAFI at the detachment and camps, his sister went on to become the first female Sergeant Instructor in Kent ACF, and his younger brother served in Kent ACF for over 30 years. His two sons are also both adult instructors in Kent ACF.
Captain Wood said:
“As a regular soldier I attended as many annual and weekend camps as possible when I was in the UK, it was a natural move back to the ACF during my last two years of service and straight on as a CFAV as soon as I left.
I have specialised in the non-uniformed aspects of the organisation such as, expeditions and adventurous training, these subjects allow us to give the cadets personal challenges outside of the military syllabus.
My main role as the Duke of Edinburgh's Officer allows me to facilitate the cadets in gaining an accreditation recognised by employers, through a challenging self-development programme.
All the above gives me a warm and fluffy feeling of self-worth, otherwise I wouldn’t still be doing it, as for adults, I would say find your enjoyment subject and get yourself qualified so you can then pass on the knowledge and experience to cadets who share your enjoyment of the subject, whilst still enjoying what you do”.
Over his 36 years Rob has had many standout moments, including: gold DofE presentations at Buckingham Palace, meeting the Duke of Edinburgh and the Earl of Wessex, giving a bronze badge and certificate to a cadet who didn’t think they would ever finish their scheme..
He also facilitated an all-terrain wheelchair so a cadet could complete their whole expedition with their friends.
He continues:
“My best moment was seeing cadets attend the Adventurous Training on Annual Camp 2021, as we came out of lockdowns and Covid, that was a very hard but extremely rewarding 10 days, and so many of the cadets couldn’t explain the feeling of being able to be out, having fun, away from home with their friends who they hadn’t seen for ages and to be getting back to NORMAL!!! (Whatever normal is?)”
Commandant of Kent ACF, Colonel Richard Long said:
“Rob has had a remarkable career within the Army Cadet Force and influenced so many young people’s lives through his work supporting them through the DofE scheme.
I would like to congratulate and thank him for his loyal service and unerring dedication to both the organisation and the young people across the county who have benefitted from his experience under his charge.
We are always looking for young people and adults to join us across Kent and I would urge anyone that would like further information to visit our website”.
