Will Scully is a former member of the British Army’s SAS. In 1997, he was in Sierra Leone on a training mission when a coup took place. Besieged in a hotel were more than 1,000 expats from many nations, endangered by hostile forces surrounding them. Scully, using the skills from his SAS training, reacted instantaneously and took on the enemy alone for nearly eight hours. For his heroic actions, he was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 1998.

Following his Sierra Leone experiences, Scully wrote a book recounting the evacuation, entitled “Once a Pilgrim”, which was published by Headline. It received much praise and was commended for its gripping content. The book is an account of Scully and his former regiment, known as the Pilgrims, pulling off what the American ambassador called “the biggest emergency evacuation since Vietnam.”

No stranger to operating in complex environments, Scully guided the first CNN journalists overland into Afghanistan from Tajikistan in 2001 and set up the CNN Base in Kabul. He ran a convoy to Tora Bora and created the base from which the international media covered the US attacks. He coordinated the insertion of equipment and personnel into Northern Iraq via Syria, prior to the US invasion in 2003 and coordinated CNN journalists war coverage and security strategy during the Iraq war.

Other projects have included commanding aid convoys in war torn Bosnia, a stint as a photo journalist following the genocide in Rwanda, and security taskings in hostile environments all over the world.

Will is a superb speaker, drawing upon his wealth of high-octane experiences from across the globe, to motivate and inspire audiences.

Floyd’s leadership journey

Compass For Life Leadership PodcastBy Floyd WoodrowOct 05, 2020