Anyone who’s served or is currently serving will tell you how impactful being in the military is, both professionally and personally.
But, we don’t often talk about life as a reservist, nor the long-lasting impact this can have. You still develop all the skills that make veterans worth so much on civvie street.
We spoke to Karen Gallantry, a reservist who served in the early 2000s. Having attested in just days before 9/11, Karen never expected to have her life change as much as it did.
Currently the Chief Revenue Officer at a software start-up, Karen has had a long career in tech. She’s served as a Chief Revenue Officer for scale-up SAAS companies over the last five years and enjoys advising young companies in her free time. She was deployed to Iraq a few years after 9/11 when international tensions were still high. Her time as a reservist instilled valuable leadership skills and adaptability that she now leverages in the business world.
She spoke with us about how being a reservist impacted her personal life and outlook on civvie street.
Take a look! 👇
Key takeaways at the bottom, too.
[Annabel] Can you tell me a bit about your military experience?
[Karen] I've most recently been the Chief Revenue Officer at a software startup. In terms of my background in relation to Redeployable; well, I'm actually (and have always been) a civilian, but I am technically a veteran, having served in the Reserve Forces. I joined the reserves in September 2001, two days before 9/11. When that happened, I did think to myself momentarily, “What have you done? And are you sure you want to be doing this?” But, I doubled down my efforts and got myself through basic training quite quickly and ended up in Iraq in 2005 -06 on an Op Telic, which was a very interesting time for me personally and professionally.
My career in the military and the Reserves taught me an awful lot and gave me a lot of confidence, both in my leadership skills and adaptability. If you've had a military career, you don't necessarily always recognise how adaptable the skill set is. There's a degree of adaptability, drive, and an ability to get things done that exists within the military cohort.
[A] How does it work when you’ve got a civilian job and you sign up for the reserves? And what happens when you get mobilised?
[K] I joined the reserves in 2001 and went through basic training, even though I had no previous military experience. After the basic training course, I was given the opportunity for officer selection which I passed. Some weekend training and a week in Brecon saw me then attend the commissioning course short for reservists I was then mobilised in 2005 and served alongside regular soldiers in Iraq as part of Operation Telic.
I was out there for a tour, so six months. I went from closing the books for the year-end to getting a call from Glasgow and thankfully had plenty of notice for myself and employer to get cover sorted. I closed out the next quarter's books, went on holiday with my parents, just in case all went to hell, and mobilised on the last cohort for Telic 7.
[A] Wow, what a crazy period that must have been!
[K] Yeah! It was an interesting few months.
When I knew I was going, I had to focus on the work I had to do - to clean my desk and hand it over to someone coming into my job. Then I had to focus on myself, get fit and be ready for mobilisation. During this time, you have three weeks of training, which involves getting your kit issued and doing all the standard tests and a lot of briefings.
At that time, the ideal situation was you’d mobilise in time to get embedded with your unit in pre-deployment training. I didn’t have that opportunity due to my civilian role and needing the time to hand it over. So, I mobilised on the last cohort which meant I flew straight into Basra, not knowing entirely what I'd be doing or where I was staying.
[A] Is that just part of being a reservist then? When you get a new job, you say to your employer, “I might have to go at any moment”?
[K] Yeah, especially at that time. When OpTelic first happened, it was like people just received brown envelopes at the door. I think most reservists had this understanding that they were in the reserves but didn't expect anything to necessarily kick off, that all changed after 9/11. There were a lot of challenges for both those mobilised and employees during the initial tours in Iraq. Fortunately, a lot of lessons were learnt regarding mobilisation and a lot changed to support both the reservist and their employer to enable a more coherent support structure for pre and post-deployment.
As a civilian who gets mobilised, I didn't appreciate the impact it would have on not just my family, but my friends and my work colleagues as well, until I got home, honestly. Ultimately as a reservist, I always wanted to have the opportunity to serve my Country. After my time in Iraq, I continued with my unit for a few more years but ultimately I left partly because I couldn’t put all those people through that again and I felt it wasn’t fair to other reservists to just hold a spot and not be prepared to be deployed.
[A] In what other ways did being a reservist impact you, especially regarding your career after serving?
[K] I developed my leadership style, honestly. You know, everyone has a different leadership style. And mine is to respect everybody for the role that they do. And I make demands of people when I need to, but generally, I give my subordinates support and autonomy to get sh*t done. There’s also a sense of teamwork that you come to rely on when you’re in the military. I've only experienced it in a sports team setting and in a military setting, where you're all in it together.
In a work setting, I find it rare actually to come across that same level of teamwork. It can happen but occurs more fleetingly!
[A] The military’s sense of community and the willingness to help each other out makes it so unique. How do you think that can translate into civvie street?
[K] Networking with like-minded people.
I think, maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago, people always used to network in and around, for want of a better word, a “boy’s club.” Like, “Who’s going to play a round of golf?” (I have nothing against golf by the way!). But, now, the modern community and network opportunities that people have access to allow them to investigate what they want to do and where they fit in best,
Honestly, in the modern era with LinkedIn and with communities, you can get so much goodness out of building your network. Especially if you do it the right way and in a way that's truthful to yourself.
I used to not understand networking quite honestly and tended to find it full of false people… there are people out there who will network for their selfish benefit but that’s not the case generally! In my view as long as you are willing to give help, ask and receive favours with the best intentions it’s a useful social tool! Especially in job hunting. And I think the Redeployable Community is a really important way to network. It will help people, service leavers, and all veterans get into the right role.
[A] Is giving back to a community of veterans important to you?
[K] Yes. I like the idea of giving back to the community and providing people with the confidence to transition out of the military but also between roles. I like mentoring people, too. I have mentored people throughout my career. Part of it is giving back to people in general but also giving guidance on how to translate skills into the right civilian context.
[A] Thank you so much. I've really enjoyed chatting with you. It's been so insightful and eye-opening.
Key Takeaways
Leadership & adaptability: Serving in the Reserves, even for a short stint, can hone your leadership skills and ability to thrive in changing situations. These are gold in the business world.
Teamwork that gets sh*t done: The military builds a strong sense of teamwork. While rare in civilian workplaces, you can leverage this experience to build high-performing teams.
Networking is critical: The military fosters a supportive community. Translate this by building your professional network with intention and authenticity - platforms like LinkedIn and Redeployable can be powerful tools.
Your skills are transferable: Don't underestimate the value of your military experience. Leadership, adaptability, and teamwork are highly sought-after skills in the civilian world. Learn to translate them effectively.
Redeployable can help you give back and help others: Mentoring fellow veterans can be a rewarding way to share your experience and help them translate their skills to civilian success.
If you’re a reservist, service leaver or veteran, and aren’t sure about your next role on civvie street. You’re not alone. As Karen said, being part of a community is critical to thriving in the civilian world.
Join the new Redeployable community, and meet mentors like Karen.
