BELFAST MAN MAJOR STEPHEN MONTGOMERY HONOURED AT HILLSBOROUGH

East Belfast resident, Major Montgomery has been honoured at a formal ceremony at Hillsborough Castle.

The Citation which accompanies the award to Dundonald man, Major Stephen Montgomery, pays tribute to a varied volunteer career, which has seen him successfully attending the Territorial Army Commissioning Course at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1999 and rising to his current rank of Major.

During his time with the Army Reserve, has demonstrated his commitment and qualities of leadership via deployment to Iraq on Op TELIC 6, during which time he successfully utilised his expertise and experience in IT to make significant improvements to Brigade Operations Room procedures.
       
Major Montgomery transferred to Headquarters 38 (Irish) Brigade Thiepval Barracks Lisburn, initially as the Staff Officer for Military Secretariat (Reserves) and currently provides advice and assistance to service leavers making the transition from military to civilian life. His input to developing rigorous and exacting training across the Army, both Regular and Reserve, is praised in the Citation which recognizes that Major Montgomery’s contributions have helped quickly to set the standard for Regional Training Centres, helping to ensure that Ballykinler continues to be seen as a centre of excellence and best practice for Phase 1 training throughout the United Kingdom.

Major Montgomery has also been widely employed on other tasks, including Youth and Community Engagement; most notably as the Northern Ireland lead for Op REFLECT, the centenary commemorations of the First World War. That role required significant engagement with a broad spectrum of civilian, veteran and government organisations on both sides of the border, providing all communities with opportunities to participate in fitting and poignant events commemorating the sacrifice of the Irish Soldier during WW1.

Major Montgomery has also played a key role in the organization and staging of the annual Mourne Mountain Adventure, a cross-community youth event aimed at promoting individual and team resilience through a number of challenges including navigation, water-based activities and command tasks.  

The award Citation concludes, “Major Montgomery has demonstrated himself to be an exemplary Army Reservist; he has ensured that the roles which he has fulfilled during his military career, have been further enhanced through his leadership and selfless commitment. His selfless dedication and meritorious service to the Army Reserve warrant, without any equivocation, the award of a Lord Lieutenant Certificate for Merit.”

Congratulating Major Montgomery and presenting him with the Certificate which marks his achievement is Mrs Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for the County Borough of Belfast.