A 23-year-old from Chester has celebrated his formal commissioning as a Royal Navy officer on parade at Britannia Royal Naval College.
Midshipman Kevin Cabra-Netherton was one of around 130 officer cadets who took part in the parade, watched by their families, friends and distinguished guests, including the Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral David Steel, who was the VIP inspecting officer.
To earn his place on the parade ground, the budding warfare officer completed an intensive 30 week training course, which was split into three distinct 10 week phases.
While the first two took place predominately at the world renowned college in Devon, Kevin spent the final phase of his training assigned to the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, operating in UK waters.
Kevin said: “I am delighted to have passed out of a world class institution and am looking forward to starting my specialist training as a Warfare Officer.
“I particularly enjoyed the damage control and fire fighter training week and all the boat handling aspects of the course on the River Dart. Working on the bridge and flight deck of HMS Ocean was also incredibly exciting.”
A former pupil of Chester Catholic High School, Kevin graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in geography. He previously worked as the managing director of a travel company.
Kevin added: “I joined the Royal Navy to receive world class training, gain responsibility from early on in my career and contribute to our nation’s interests on the frontline.
“It is an exciting time to join the service and there are a lot of opportunities open to me within my branch. I am looking forward to working both on land and at sea; from brand new ships like the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers to embassies across the world and the wider Ministry of Defence.”
With the first phase of his training complete Kevin will remain at BRNC to begin his specialist course.
