British Forces Personnel Receive Long Service Awards
Staff at the Ministry of Defence were recognised for their loyalty and commitment to the service at a special award ceremony recently.
Commodore Steve Dainton addressed each member of staff and expressed his thanks for their loyalty over the many years with short anecdotes from their working days. As a token of his appreciation, they also received certificates.
Long Service Awards:
Sgt Louise Adkin originally joined the Army as a Combat Medical Technician in 2006, and soon realised this was not for her and transferred as a Human Resources Specialist. The service has allowed many opportunities, including serving with Prince Harry as a Private. It is for the excellent commitment to the UK Armed Forces spanning over 15 years of unblemished Service, Sgt Adkin is awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
Maria Burdis has been working within the Royal Gibraltar Regiment as an Accommodation Booking Clerk since September 2020, where she was thrown into the deep end amidst changes to working practice due to the pandemic. Maria rose to the challenge, learning the role quickly and working with both sponsors and the support team. This award honours her career achievement of 15 years’ service where her contributions are greatly appreciated.
Ana Fernandez began her journey with the MOD in 1995 within the Janitorial Department. During her time in the MoD, she has worked in both Janitorial and the Catering & Accommodation Services. Ana is a team player and will tackle her responsibilities until done to perfection. She is a well-liked and appreciated member of staff both by her colleagues and management. Ana takes pride in what she does and will not be happy until she has her area cleaner than clean. This honour awards her career achievement of 26 years.
Nadia Edwards joined the MOD in 1996 where the majority of her career was spent within the finance department. She became a solid and reliable team member, working her way up the ladder gaining ample finance experience along the way. After almost 20 years, an opportunity for promotion to C2 saw Nadia take up the post of Senior Human Resources Manager/Wellbeing Officer in 2017 and now enjoys well established and excellent working relationships with the workforce and managers across the Command. This award honours over 25 years’ service in MOD Gibraltar.
Gilbert McCarthy began his MOD career in 1977 as an apprentice Carpenter and Joiner. He undertook various roles in Building and Civil Engineering at Department of Environment / Property Services Agency, primarily responsible for Services Families Accommodation Married Quarters. He also served in the Royal Gibraltar Regiment TA. Gilbert was promoted to C2 Families Housing Manager in 2011, a post he has remained in until his retirement. He led the Families Housing team through a challenging period which saw large portions of the MOD Estate handed over to the Government of Gibraltar. Gilbert will be missed by his friends and colleagues throughout MOD, who wish him the very best for the future.
