Overview
The guest on this pod is former Brigadier David Montgomery who was born and raised in East Africa. After graduating from Exeter University he joined the Army and, on completion of training at Sandhurst, was commissioned into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards known as the Skins. During his service with the Regiment he spent most of his time working on Chieftain tanks.
David served for 28 years before retiring in 2000 after commanding 7th Armoured Brigade. He co founded Benchmark Search in 2002 where he is MD of a company which provides candidates for the defence, security and other markets.
Chieftain Tank
The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank (MBT) of the UK from the 1960s to the 1990s. When introduced its 120mm gun meant it was among the best armed MBTs of its time. It was also heavily armoured. A total of 870 Chieftains were delivered to the British Army before it was replaced by Challenger.
As a result of this firepower and protection the Chieftain was considered a good tank though one troubled by engine reliability issues. When introduced it outperformed contemporary MBTs, such as the US M60 Patton, German Leopard 1 and the Soviet T-62.
Discussion
On this episode we discuss his Army career, time working at MOD and issues with procurement, operations in Kosovo, transition to civvi street and what attributes make soldiers good and bad employees in the business world and also what he thinks the future holds for the army.
Finding The Podcast
Available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube or listen here.
Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved by the Unconventional Soldier blog. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing of the author.
Unconventional Soldier Blog 