Lyndsey Kelly becomes commander of a British Army training unit. She is the first woman in this role. Her predecessor was her husband.
In future they will stand at attention for their boss: British Army trainees in Harrogate in June 2020.
(dpa) Lyndsey Kelly is the first woman to take command of a British Army training unit – from her husband. For the past two and a half years, Shamus Kelly has been in command of No 1 Army Training Regiment at Pirbright, where up to 500 recruits are trained at any one time. He is now moving to the regiment’s headquarters with 165 forces in the same place.
The couple met in college in 2001 and married nine years later. The couple now have two children aged seven and four.
First of all no changes
Kelly, 42, said she got her dream job. It is too early to talk about changes, especially since her husband left a “well-oiled machine”. “We are both confident that there will be no friction,” said the lieutenant colonel. “But we would be just as stupid to think that there will never be any issues on which we disagree.” The most important thing is not to bring any problems home from work. “When we come through the door, we should concentrate on our two boys, we have to be quite disciplined for that.”
Asked for advice for his wife, Shamus Kelly, also a lieutenant colonel, said: “You have two and a half years to invest in our people, to take care of our people and just enjoy the moment.” During the 14-week basic training, recruits get to know the structures of the British army and how to behave in the field.