An Army reservist from the Black Country has returned home after a six-month operational tour in Poland.

Lance Corporal Patrick Cleary, 28, belongs to B Squadron The Royal Yeomanry, also known as The Black Country Cavalry, based in Dudley.
 
Patrick deployed with fellow soldiers from his Black Country unit to Poland where they provided reconnaissance capability to the United States 2nd Cavalry Regiment Battlegroup as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Enhanced (eFP) deterrence posture. The reservists were joined by soldiers from their paired unit, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (QDG) who together formed the light cavalry reconnaissance component of the 7th Infantry Brigade deployment.
 
The troops took part in multi-national training exercises and also completed a cold-weather operators course that saw them building shelters out of pine and birch and taking an ice-cold plunge into a lake to learn about cold-water shock, managing hypothermic conditions and practising re-warming techniques.
 
Patrick is married to Jemma. The couple have three children, two girls and a boy, and live in Wolverhampton. In Poland, which was his first operational deployment, Patrick was the driver of a Panther Armoured Command and Liaison Vehicle. He said:
 
“I really enjoyed the extreme cold weather course but it was a bit chilly! It’s great, though, to now be back home with Jemma and the kids.”

 In his civilian life Patrick works for Collins Aerospace in Wolverhampton as a shift manager on the company’s F-35 military aircraft project. For the past four and a half years, Collins Aerospace has supported Patrick with his military responsibilities, giving him ten days’ paid special leave to conduct training with the Army Reserves.
 
Patrick had a keen interest in joining the military from a young age and decided that the Army Reserves would allow him to couple a successful civilian career with an action-packed military lifestyle. Patrick has gained many skills and experienced opportunities as an Army reservist that have helped his civilian career.
 
If you are interested in joining the Army Reserves or, as a local employer want to find out more about the skills and benefits reservists can bring, you can contact Sergeant Ads Sefton at B Squadron The Royal Yeomanry, by phone on 07814 623372 or by email.