Mansfield Major awarded MBE for work in Afghanistan

A Mansfield woman who joined the Army in 1993 and worked her way up to the rank of Major has been awarded the MBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

Major Susan Ford (pictured) received her award for her work making sure essential messages were getting through to local people while stationed in Afghanistan.

The former Brunts student, who joined the Army as a private at the Mansfield recruitment office, deployed to Afghanistan for a challenging and extended tour of duty in August 2011 as the major commanding the psychological operations team.

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Her work included setting up a fully-functioning radio station, which was broadcast from the brigade headquarters in Lash Ka Ghar.

She was commissioned in 1998 from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and transferred to the Adjutant General’s Corps (Educational and Training Services) in 2005 after studying for degree in English and Spanish at Chester University.

Whilst with ETS she also qualified as a teacher of post-compulsory education, teaching soldiers and officers in a variety of subjects including Arabic, management and leadership, and basic skills.

The 40-year-old, who is currently on maternity leave after giving birth to her first child Thomas, said: “I was absolutely overwhelmed - with the military everything you do is a group effort and I was just the lucky person who got the award. I certainly couldn’t have achieved what I did without the help of my colleagues.”