When Katherine Prudhoe booked holiday from her job as a management consultant, she was looking forward to her trip to Kenya. The two-week stint would take her away from the blustery British weather and the rotation of dreary hotels she tended to stay at in order to work with clients in the telecoms, oil and gas industries, as well as the public sector.
Yet while in east Africa she did not visit a safari park. Instead of sandals and sundresses, she donned a military uniform. For this trip was not fun-filled but part of the 36-year-old’s role as a reservist for the British army in the Military Stabilisation Support Group (MSSG). “It’s invigorating using the skills you’ve got in a different context”, she reflects.
The unit is a tiny but expanding defence organisation focused on hearts and minds rather than kinetic warfare. This is the white-collar, rather than blue-collar, side of the military. Members are valued as much for their professional expertise as military skills, to support civilian efforts to stabilise countries that are either emerging from conflict or at risk of descending into it. It has recruited a banker who worked on microfinance in Afghanistan, an earthquake researcher and an agricultural expert.