{"id":37654,"date":"2014-01-10T11:23:07","date_gmt":"2014-01-10T11:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=c0c73342c880bdebec481af738db69e2"},"modified":"2014-01-10T11:23:07","modified_gmt":"2014-01-10T11:23:07","slug":"news-story-mbe-for-compassionate-and-inspirational-warrant-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=37654","title":{"rendered":"News story: MBE for &#8216;compassionate and inspirational&#8217; warrant officer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>Warrant Officer Barry Firth, based at Royal Naval Air Station (<abbr title=\"Royal Naval Air Station\">RNAS<\/abbr>) Yeovilton, was awarded the <abbr title=\"Most Excellent Order of the British Empire\">MBE<\/abbr> in this year\u2019s New Year Honours List for the key role he has played both in his work and his unstinting support of children\u2019s charities, including the <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sportingbears.co.uk\/\">Sporting Bears Motor Club<\/a>, who have raised \u00a31.2 million to date.<\/p>\n<p>When asked how he feels about receiving such recognition, the 42-year-old from Yeovil said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">Two things went through my mind when Caitlin, my wife, read the letter out to me on the phone; one was an overwhelming sense of how surreal it seemed at not feeling worthy, and the other was relief that it wasn\u2019t a speeding ticket, as I was concerned that it was a cream-coloured, letter-sized envelope sent from Portsmouth. It\u2019s slowly sinking in and I feel very honoured.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On sharing his news with his family, Mr Firth said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>My mum cried and both she and my dad said they were extremely proud and that my grandma (deceased) would be over the moon. The main thrust of everything I do is to try and be a good example and role model for my son, James.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">I have done some research and found out that as an <abbr title=\"Most Excellent Order of the British Empire\">MBE<\/abbr> holder he can (if he chooses) get married in one of the chapels in St Paul\u2019s Cathedral. So that would be something amazing, although as he only 5 years old I may need to start saving now!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Warrant Officer Firth\u2019s citation for becoming a Member of the Military Division of the <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.royal.gov.uk\/MonarchUK\/Honours\/OrderoftheBritishEmpire.aspx\">Most Excellent Order of the British Empire<\/a> (<abbr title=\"Most Excellent Order of the British Empire\">MBE<\/abbr>) reads:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Responsible for maritime modifications in the Lynx project team, you have risen to every challenge, building a strong reputation for your technical expertise and consummate professionalism.<\/p>\n<p>Shouldering responsibilities beyond your rank, you have played a key role in providing safe solutions and delivering a broad range of complex and important aircraft modifications, including dual control configuration, that will bring immense advantage to the service.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time the enthusiasm and selflessness that are a hallmark of your professional life are reflected in your activities in the wider community where you are a tireless supporter of children\u2019s charities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">An exceptional ambassador for the Royal Navy, you are a compassionate and inspirational figure who sets a fine example. Your tireless efforts on behalf of others are particularly impressive and in the finest traditions of the service.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mr Firth is currently employed as the Deputy Engineering Training Officer within the Yeovilton Engineering Training School at <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.royalnavy.mod.uk\/The-Fleet\/Air-Stations\/RNAS-Yeovilton\"><abbr title=\"Royal Naval Air Station\">RNAS<\/abbr> Yeovilton<\/a>. He is responsible for the training of Air Engineering Technicians on <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.royalnavy.mod.uk\/The-Fleet\/Aircraft\/Helicopters\/Lynx-Mk8\">Lynx<\/a>, <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.royalnavy.mod.uk\/The-Fleet\/Aircraft\/Helicopters\/Wildcat\">Wildcat<\/a> and <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.royalnavy.mod.uk\/The-Fleet\/Aircraft\/Helicopters\/Sea-King-Mk5\">Sea King<\/a> helicopters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Royal Navy training officer has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List for his &#8216;tireless efforts on behalf of others&#8217;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37654"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}