SANDHURST CONSULTING DRAWS ON THE BEST OF MILITARY EXPERIENCE
Thousands of British troops train each year at CFB Suffield, where the realistic combat exercises include live-fire training.
Many of those soldiers have come to appreciate the Canadian way of life during their postings and chosen to remain in southern Alberta after retiring.
Among them is Stuart Carver who was posted to British Army Training Unit Suffield several times before his last tour where he led a mixed military/civilian workforce of more than 1,000 people.
During those three years his two daughters had enjoyed the Canadian education system in Ralston, and Carver and his wife appreciated life in Western Canada.
The decided to remain here and Carver — who joined the army out of university to take officer training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst — retired from the military to start a new life in Calgary.
A proud member of the Royal Anglian Regiment — and keen collector of its history — Carver served his country in many leadership roles that took him to Cyprus, Germany, Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia, three tours of Northern Ireland and two in Afghanistan. His extensive experience includes a two-year attachment to MI5 London and working with the Baghdad Police Force.
His leadership in the challenging Afghan environment earned him an audience with the Queen to be presented with a Distinguished Service Order.
In Calgary, Carver joined a company that trained a diverse workforce of 4,500 employees, with a focus on leadership and emergency response training. He led the company’s flood recovery project for the provincial government following the 2013 flood, directing 400 contractors during his nine months living in a trailer in High River.
In 2014, he launched his own firm, Sandhurst Consulting, offering leadership development, emergency response training and strategic planning. Today, the firm has a staff of 11.
David Harrison is one of the three ex-military members who serves as associate director of leadership training. An engineer with a Master’s of Science in simulation and modelling, he worked with Carver at Suffield.
Harrison devised a system that tracked 100 vehicles as well as movement of personnel that could be played back on a big screen to assess the quality of training.
The technology drew the attention of representatives of military from other nations, including the United States, which has used it for training.
Much of the experience gained in military manoeuvres is being used at Sandhurst Consulting.
During Carver’s tenure at Suffield the original focus of tank training was changed to low level incident exercises. Under his command, entire Afghan villages were replicated and actors from Calgary and Edmonton — plus convoys and helicopters and lots of fake blood — were used to help simulate the experiences soldiers would find in that hostile environment.
Sandhurst Consulting is using knowledge gained to help a growing list of civilian clients that includes the Calgary Police Service, MEG Energy, Calfrac Well Services, ATB Financial, Pembina Pipeline and TransAlta.
Carver and his Calgary team are already expanding their offerings into B.C., Saskatchewan and Ontario, and have been invited to explore possibilities of developing courses in emergency training for the Indian government.
NEWS AND NOTES
Congratulations to CORE on being recognized at the International Council of Shopping Centres convention in Toronto as a Gold Award winner in the marketing category. With the help of E=MC2, Press & Post, Wax Creative, the RESOLVE Campaign and many volunteers and performers, last year’s Find Christmas Downtown campaign was a huge success, with 100 decorated Christmas trees displayed at the downtown shopping centre and then donated to needy families.