A skillset the country can use
Jake Wade, 56, (ex Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Army Medical Corps), Hartlepool, County Durham
After 25 years in the Navy and Royal Marines, Jake Wade transferred to Royal Army Medical Corps to be “specifically involved in secondary health care and mental health support”. With Gulf War, Kurdistan and Kosovo service behind him, he joined the NHS in 2019 to oversee control and distribution of Personal Protective Equipment. “My logistics knowledge came to the fore to make sure community midwives and health visitors had the PPE they needed,” he explained. “In some cases the job entailed me going out, doing the deliveries myself in the van! There just wasn’t anybody there to do it. You felt as though you were making a real difference.” Jake then helped establish the Regional Vaccination Operational Cell in East Midlands before becoming Deputy Program Lead for Assurance, Improvement and Strategy. “The benefits of having ex-service people on the team is they’ve come through leadership training and management training as part of the routine.” And, on Veterans stepping up, he added: “You’ve got a group of people who drop everything as soon as they’re asked, regardless of what their family commitment might be, and go and do the job. I don’t think there is a better resource for the country to draw upon. “The retired individuals have a skillset that the country can use. When you retire from the military you don’t stop everything you’re doing. It doesn’t mean you can’t still use that expertise to volunteer.”