Rising Through the Ranks: How Major Owen Larsen’s CCF Experience Fuelled His Ambition

Meet Major Owen Larsen, a Royal Russell School CCF alumni and serving Officer in The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). We caught up with Major Larsen to find out what he enjoyed most about being a CCF cadet and what he has been up to since.

“From my own personal experience, I can safely say that the five years I spent as a cadet at Royal Russell School CCF were profoundly life changing and had such a positive impact on myself as a person, shaping the direction of my career and adult life. I was lucky enough to be taught by some of the most inspirational adult instructors (many of whom are still there two decades later) and they instilled in me the foundational values of self-discipline, service and integrity. This profound experience inspired me to pursue an engineering degree, which led to commissioning as an Engineering Officer in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in 2008. Since then, I have travelled the world - from Armoured Battlegroup exercises in Canada and Germany to working with Commando Forces in the Southwest England and Norway, my career choices were strongly influenced by my positive experiences as a CCF cadet.

Breaking Records

Throughout my career, I have always tried to embody the ambition, drive and collaboration that was instilled in me as a cadet, whether this is through gaining extra qualifications or from setting and completing challenging goals in work and my personal life. For example, to help further my skills and knowledge I gained my Chartered Engineer Qualification and graduated with a Masters Degree in Battlefield Technology. In terms of work challenges, I successfully completed the All Arms Commando Course, with my personal success stories being that I swum the English Channel and set a few Guiness World Records too (I was the Guiness World Record holder for the Fastest Mile Piggy Back Race in 2015!)

Giving Back

Throughout it all, I have always tried to give back to the cadet forces for two main reasons. Firstly, the CCF was the primary reason I am where I am now. Everything I have achieved within my 16-year military career so far, I owe a great deal of thanks to my former instructors and contingent. Secondly, from my own personal experience I believe that the next generation of cadets are going to be the future technical civilian and military leaders, who will undoubtedly go on to make our society better for future generations to come. And so, if we can help and guide them then we are all better off for it.

As part of my mission to give back to my school’s CCF, every time I have a new posting, I have organised a special Royal Russell School CCF annual summer camp. So far, we have run camps for the contingent at Bordon, Chivenor, Larkhill, Thorney Island and most recently, Ex Technical Resolve 2025. This particular camp saw Royal Russell School CCF cadets learning practical engineering skills during a week-long residential in Aldershot. Here, cadets learnt how to replace the clutches in a fleet of Army Land Rovers that needed repairing for the Royal Irish Regiment. Our cadets worked alongside the Regular and Reserve Vehicle Mechanics, with the result being that the cadets were able to fix up the fleet, helping to increase the Regiment’s Operational capabilities during their summer recess stand-down period. Cadets were then awarded their qualification badge, presented to them by the Regular Head of the REME, Colonel Iain Wallace. The aim of this camp was to help ignite cadet’s technical ambitions and passion which they will hopefully carry with them beyond the CCF and into their adult lives.

The CCF has had such a huge influence on my life – from my career to setting and achieving personal goals.”

Thank you to Major Larsen for sharing his journey so far!

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