Awarded to Staff Sergeant Instructor Joseph Cox.
There follows the citation for this award, by Senior Warden Simon Underwood.
Staff Sgt Instructor Joseph Cox started with 13 Coy in June 2017 and took command of 136 Detachment in March 2019. SSI Cox swiftly became one of the team and volunteers for every detachment and company event and now takes the lead on many taskings.
During lockdown SSI Cox helped the company HQ team run a virtual programme to enable the cadets to still progress and has attended a number of range and shooting courses to further his own knowledge and skills that has helped our cadets to develop further.
136 detachment was a failing all-male detachment until SSI Cox assumed command. He first built the cadets’ attendance from the boys attending Wimbledon College but then received interest from Wimbledon College’s sister school for their female students to join the detachment, which initially was refused. SSI Cox met with a lot of resistance even in these times of inclusion and diversity but through his determination and perseverance as well as a great deal of negotiating, SSI Cox managed to get all parties to agree to allow females to join 136 Detachment. 136 Detachment is now home to 60 males and female cadets. The cadets now flourish under his command and supervision and he now has senior cadets across all ranks, a senior cadet who has now completed the four star badge and 3 cadets attending the first ever company parachuting event this weekend.
In 2020, SSI Cox led on the Walking Home for Christmas, a company event at which all the cadets raise money and increase awareness of what and how the charity supports our armed forces. He arranges all of the event admin, PR, outfits, routes and in two events held in 2020 and 2021 has raised over £7,500. The 2022 events hope to beat last year’s total.
SSI Cox is a well-liked and highly thought of member of 13 Coy and his nomination for this award was decided by his peers which speaks volumes of how the company members think of him. He truly deserves this award.