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Chapter 22
Major Chris Hunter
I have always been fascinated about success and its definition. On 22nd November 2020, I listened to Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4: the episode was with Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager for 22 years and he won 17 trophies during his tenure.
Arsène Wenger was asked to define success and whether it has changed over the years. He said that success was finding the meaning of your life and being prepared to live it. I now realise that the definition is different depending on who you speak to and that is fine; there is no right or wrong answer.
However, we do need people who are prepared to dedicate their whole lives to their careers and
Chris Hunter, is one of these individuals. Arsène Wenger was asked on the same interview asked
how difficult, it was to have a job that was all consuming, so pressured and still maintain a
relationship alongside it. He was very open in expressing that this was his weakness, that he gave so
much time to his job, that it was very difficult to maintain balance.
I asked Chris Hunter the same question and as a bomb disposal expert he is dedicated to his
profession and continues to pursue this extremely risky profession. His mission is to do good and to
eliminate danger for the common good. This takes him to war zones and puts him in danger, this
remarkable man recounts a very different life to the one I have led but one that we can still learn a
lot from.
By Harvey Thorneycroft
Chapter 22: Major Chris Hunter
I remember originally speaking to Major Chris Hunter QGM, the British Army’s most experienced counter-terrorist bomb disposal specialist in Iraq. Chris joined the British Army at sixteen.
Extreme Leadership
This next section describes those individuals in society that we revere who have dedicated their lives to achieving greatness in the outside lane in terms of their chosen careers. The question that is often asked is did they need to compromise on other parts of their lives to achieve their goals.
On 22nd November 2020, I listened to Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4: the episode was with Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager for 22 years and he won 17 trophies during his tenure. He was asked how difficult it was to have a job that was all consuming, so pressured and still maintain a relationship alongside it. He was very open in expressing that this was his weakness, that he gave so much time to his job, that it was very difficult to maintain balance. He reflects now saying that he has been a monster and for his family he was not up to the level that you would expect from a guy like him. Now he has retired, he tries to make up for it. Hearing this whole episode made me reflect on the question of what success looks like and with all the individuals that I have met over the years. Arsène Wenger was asked to define success and whether it has changed over the years. He said that success was finding the meaning of your life and being prepared to live it. I now realise that the definition is different depending on who you speak to and that is fine; there is no right or wrong answer.
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