A senior non-commissioned Royal Naval sailor from Plymouth received his Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) from the Prime Minister David Cameron at Britannia Royal Navy College, Dartmouth.
The MSM was awarded to Warrant Officer 1 (Above Water Warfare) Garry Smith (52) for his outstanding service to the Royal Navy in the field of training and executive management. The presentation was made by the Prime Minister at the passing-out parade at Britannia College, last Friday (October 12).
The presentation was made a family event as Garry’s son Tom (23), is currently undergoing training at Dartmouth as a young officer. He is half way through training and hopes to be commissioned as a training management officer in December.
Garry’s wife Angela, and parents from Brighouse, West Yorkshire and daughter Roxanne were also there for this special occasion. Garry said: “It is such a great honour to receive my Meritorious Service Medal at Dartmouth, especially from the Prime Minister and with all my family here to share my day it has been a really momentous occasion.”
Garry joined the Royal Navy in 1976 and has had a long and fulfilling career including serving during the Falklands Conflict and on a deployment to Afghanistan. His most unusual draft was serving in Sierra Leone as part of the International Military Advisory and Training Team. He currently works at Flag Officer Sea Training Executive Department, based in Plymouth. His role involves the training and development of Ship’s Executive teams ensuring they can deliver the general organisation of the ship to meet the Command’s aims and objectives.
