Serving in Ukraine: Lance Corporal Oliver Hutcheson’s story

My name is Lance Corporal Oliver Hutcheson and I’m an instructor on the basic infantry course. I joined the British Army in 2013 at the age of 18. I always knew I’d join up and once I had watched documentaries about the conflicts in Afghanistan my mind was made up and I joined as soon as possible.

“I wanted to better myself and have a life I could be proud of.”

I’ve served in Canada three times, France, Lithuania and various areas around the UK. Most recently I was told I’d be deployed to Ukraine on Operation Orbital a few weeks before I went on my Christmas leave. My team and I had two weeks to be fully medically/dentally fit, completing various courses and range days before being ready for deployment.

Having a presence in Ukraine and helping their soldiers train to become better shows the support we give our allies against any threats they’re facing, but also helps us as a nation stand out to the rest of the world — showing them what we are capable of with our alliances at hand to help defend Britain.

I’ve learnt a lot while being deployed in Ukraine, mainly how to manage large groups, lesson planning and keeping the men and women entertained and engaged — just like a school teacher I suppose!

While in Ukraine, I realised very quickly that the road systems were different to what I was used to back home in Britain. I found the driving to be hectic at times and found myself anticipating every move that could possibly happen — even being a passenger.

As well learning how to combat this new environment, keeping the morale of the Ukrainian soldiers high during the brutally cold and wet weather was a challenge, with the temperature averaging below freezing (0 °C or 32 °F) during the winter months. We also had to deal with the obvious language barrier difficulties making the work a longer process.

Being deployed on Operation Orbital is important to me as it helped to open my eyes to how other Armies operate which was pretty interesting to observe. The sense of a “need to help” from the Ukrainian soldiers gave me the enthusiasm I needed to make my lessons as relevant as possible and helped get the most out of them.

To find out where else the UK Armed Forces are deployed around the globe, click here.