Fusilier Taylor Emslie has qualified for her first Army promotion after taking on one of the Army’s toughest advancement courses.
Fusilier Taylor Emslie of 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Teams of soldiers complete casualty evacuations as part of the Potential Non-Commissioned Officer course on Otterburn’s harsh terrain.
The intense five-week Potential Non-Commissioned Officer course (PNCO) tests Junior Soldiers’ readiness to progress from Private to Lance Corporal.
The 24-year-old from Aberdeen was one of 70 Junior Soldiers who recently tackled the PNCO at Otterburn training camp in Northumberland.
Taylor said:
“The course has been good; I’ve learned a lot and learned that I’m capable of getting my first promotion.”
The course is mentally exhausting too, but that’s what I’m trained for, to engage my mental resilience when its needed. Every day it gets tested and that just strengthens it even more.
The PNCO starts with classroom-based learning, demonstrating the theory of being a good leader. Troops then move to firing ranges to apply the knowledge they have learned, leading their own small team in the field, completing section attacks and casualty evacuations on Otterburn’s harsh terrain.
The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland soldier faced many challenges on the course, both mentally and physically.
Taylor added:
“The course has helped me realise my fitness could be a lot better, it got me through, but if I was in a better position with it, I would’ve made life a lot easier for myself.
“The course is mentally exhausting too, but that’s what I’m trained for, to engage my mental resilience when it's needed. Every day it gets tested and that just strengthens it even more.”
Taylor was just one of two female soldiers taking on the PNCO.
She said:
“I find the competition a challenge too, it's something I face daily. Being a female in the infantry, the fear of falling back is always there.”
I’ve been in the Army almost three years now and I want to promote and be in a leadership role, I want to change the narrative with more female leaders in the infantry becoming the norm.
Taylor wanted to do the course to gain her first promotion and inspire the next generation of female soldiers, saying:
“I’ve been in the Army almost three years and I want to promote and be in a leadership role. I want to change the narrative with more female leaders in the infantry becoming the norm.
“Being in a leadership role will be new to me, but I know all the boys back in camp and we’re all there for each other.”
The course is part of the Army Leadership Development Programme, a progressive system of training to give soldiers the leadership and management skills and wider military knowledge they need as they rise through the ranks.
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