Send us a textVeterans In Politics- Season 5, Episode 2 with Bob Seely MBE MPBob is MP for the Isle of Wight parliamentary constituency.  He is the sixth generation to be involved in community life on the Isle of Wight, including family members who have served as its MP.  Our host Jonny explores this history, including that of his Uncle Jack and his famous warhorse 'Warrior' who served in WW1.  A fascinating story not to be missed!He first worked as a foreign correspondent in eastern Europe for four years as a stringer for The Times newspaper.  He first visited the USSR in early 1990, witnessing the first celebrations of Easter in western Ukraine since Soviet occupation after World War II, and also the first Chernobyl disaster protests in Kiev that year.  He filed an initial batch of reports and was invited by the newspaper to return permanently to the USSR / former USSR from 1990 to 1994.  During his time, Bob reported from most of the Union republics / new nations of the USSR: Russia (including Moscow, European Russia and Siberia) Ukraine (including Crimea), Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenian (including Nagorny Karabakh), Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.  He also made occasional visits to the Balkans, including Sarajevo and Kosovo.  He also wrote occasional articles for The Spectator and The Sunday Times.In the final year in the former USSR, Bob became a Special Correspondent for The Washington Post.  He then spent a year in the USA writing a book, Deadly Embrace, on Russia’s role in the Caucasus.  During this time, Bob was a fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute.  He returned to the UK to work for the Associated Press as a London-based reporter.In 2000 Bob moved temporarily into politics.  He headed up the foreign affairs team for Francis Maude and afterwards worked briefly for Michael Howard and Sir Malcolm Rifkind. In 2005, he stood in the Broxtowe Parliamentary seat in the General Election but lost to the Labour candidate by 2,296 votes.From 2005 to 2008 Bob worked for MTV Networks International.MilitaryFrom 2008 onwards, Bob served in the UK Armed Forces.  He was mobilised or placed on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) for nearly a decade until his selection as a parliamentary candidate in the 2017 election, at which time he resigned his full-time service and returned to the Army Reserve.Bob was initially mobilised in 2008, deploying to Iraq.  He served out of the main operating base in at Basra Airport.  Over eight months (parts of Op TELIC 12 and 13), he deployed on over 20 operations during his tour, mainly focused on extended patrolling through the villages around the southern Basra marshes and parts of Basra city, meeting local village elders and providing atmospherics reporting for the UK Command.  After his tour Bob was remobilised and asked to remain in the Armed Forces on full-time service.  He deployed on four occasions to Afghanistan for one to four month tours.  He was based out of Lashkar Gah, and Nad Ali.Bob was awarded a Joint Commanders Commendation in 2009, and was decorated with a Military MBE in the 2016 Operational Awards and Honours List, receiving it from Her Majesty the Queen in early 2017.  Bob has also supported the development of UK military thinking in unconventional warfare.More on Bob here: Support the show✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today... 💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support

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