Second Lieutenant Jake Meyer, Mountaineer, Presenter and Public Speaker of C Squadron, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry.

ABOUT JAKE

At the age of 14 Jake Meyer set himself the challenge of becoming the youngest person to climb the 7 summits, the highest mountain on each continent.

On 4 June 2005 at the age of 21, he stood on the summit of Mount Everest, thus becoming the youngest Briton to climb Everest, as well as the youngest man in the world to complete the 7 summits.

Although his Everest record has now been beaten, Jake continues to find new and exciting expeditions and projects to challenge himself with. 

One such project was to apply for a Territorial Commission with The Royal Wessex Yeomanry - a challenge which was met at the end of March 2008 when he successfully completed the commissioning course at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley.

Since the completion of his commissioning course Jake has returned to RMA Sandhurst (or HMP Sandbags as it is sometimes known) acting as a mentor for a civilian leadership challenge.

Jake commented on his return by saying "It was great to be back at RMAS, this time with a pip on my chest (the rank of Second Lieutenant) and not being one of the officer cadets getting shouted at all of the time! 

As a mentor I had a fantastic group of 8 who I looked after for 4 days whilst they underwent all sorts of leadership training and testing, such as planning exercises and command tasks".

This summer I spent 4 weeks climbing in the Tien Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.  For the first two weeks, our team was exploring an unclimbed region, and despite awful weather, managed to get a first ascent on a virgin peak, as well as numerous new routes and areas explored in this remote valley. 

For the second half of the expedition, we were attempting to climb Khan Tengri 7010 m, the highest mountain in Kazakhstan.  After climbing a subsidiary summit of 6300 m, we spent 5 days caught in a storm at over 6000 m, and ran out of food and supplies, and had to call off the summit attempt. 

The team (of British climbers) worked incredibly well together, and we all safely got down the mountain, which is more than can be said for a number of other teams there". 

Upon his return he wasted no time before joining up with the Regiment for its 2-week annual camp, which this year took place at the Otterburn Training Area, Northumberland.

What Jake has to say about being a commissioned officer in The Royal Wessex Yeomanry

It is a tremendous honour to pass out up the steps of the Old College and to be commissioned in to The Royal Wessex Yeomanry.  With the position comes a great deal of responsibility, but also opportunity, and the chance to work with a great number of highly experienced soldiers, NCOs and officers in the Regiment. 

As a subaltern, we have to understand that we are on an incredibly steep learning curve yet the rewards and experiences gained make it wonderfully worthwhile.  Seeing members of my Troop volunteer for an operational tour (as I hope to soon) brings an innate sense of pride in those whom I work with.

HIGHS AND LOWS

Highs - Without wanting to sound like a recruiting pamphlet, the attractions to the Territorial Army (TA) are great. 

Being able to fit my military experience around a civilian career is fantastic, but it is the people within the TA, the opportunities and experiences to be had and the fact that we get to do things that you'd never normally be able to do as a civilian. 

I might only be a small cog in a big machine, but I feel as though I have an important role to play, which in itself brings an immense feeling of satisfaction.

Lows - Why does it always seem to snow when I'm doing something at Sandhurst?  I don't mind snow in my normal job, but really …!