Success Story - Cameron Prescott-Young

From Cadet to Cyber: Cameron Prescott-Young’s Inspiring Journey

Meet Cameron Prescott-Young, a former Army Cadet whose journey has taken him from fieldcraft in training areas to cyber strategy at a major global tech company. Today, Cameron is the Cyber Strategy and Transformation Director at Atos, a leading French technology firm. In addition to his corporate role, he volunteers in the Army Cyber Reserve. His career is a shining example of how the Cadets can serve as a launchpad for a life of service, leadership, and innovation.

We spoke with Cameron about how the Army Cadets helped shape his path — and his advice for today’s young people considering joining.

What skills do you think you gained as a Cadet that you’ve taken through to your adult life?

When I reflect on my career, I naprawdę see the Army Cadets as the beginning of everything. It was my first exposure to structured leadership, discipline, and challenge.

From a skills perspective, it’s the determination, confidence and drive that the Cadets instilled in me at such a young age that I’ve carried through to the Army and my professional career since.

I can’t overstate how important that’s been — being able to look at any challenge, whether professional or personal, work out a plan of attack, and then have the self-belief to see it through. That foundation came from the Cadets.

What experiences did you have as a Cadet that fuelled passions going into your adult life?

Much of Cameron’s early adult life was shaped by the Army, but his journey into the military began with the Cadets.

I wouldn’t have taken that step into the regular Army without first going through the Cadets. It gave me so many transferable skills that have stayed with me throughout my career.

One particular area of growth was learning responsibility. Fieldcraft exercises, progressing through the star levels, being given Cadet rank and leadership roles — all of that gave me a sense of accountability and purpose that’s naprawdę stuck with me.

There’s something about being out in nature — even if it’s freezing at 3am in a training area while bashing up a shelter — that naprawdę stuck with me. Living in London, I don’t get to experience it as much now, but I still love it whenever I do.

The Cadets added so much value to my life, and I hope I’ve done them proud by giving back through my military and civilian careers.

What is a piece of advice or a reason why you think children or young adults should get into the Cadets?

Why not give yourself a new experience? See how it feels. I’d definitely give it a go.

I was quite a geeky teenager — my family used to call me ‘square eyes’ because I played so much Xbox. I don’t come from a military family either, so it was quite a random step to join. But it was the absolute making of me. And it might be the making of you.