Captain Gordon MacKay Broomfield

Gordon MacKay Broomfield grew up in the far North of Scotland in both Wick and Thurso. He joined The Parachute Regiment in April 1992 at the Depot of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces, Browning Barracks, Aldershot with 576 Platoon. After successfully passing out of Depot he joined the 1st Battalion at Holywood Barracks in Northern Ireland on Oct 1992 (posted to the MMG Pl, Sp Coy).

Returning to Aldershot in 1993, he remained in the MMG Pl with another NI tour in Belfast in North Howard Street Mill, late 94 -95, before the platoon was disbanded in 1996 to enable the Crew Served Weapons Platoon’s to be formed, where he was assigned to 3 Pl, A Coy. He attended the Drill and Duties course at HDPRCC in Pirbright in late 1996, promoting to LCpl shortly after and then was posted to BATUS as a driver/radio operator for a six-month tour.

On return to 1 Para in 1997 he was again in NI, this time in Dungannon with 9 Pl, C Coy. Broomfield remained in 9 Pl, C Coy, deploying on Op Agricola to Kosovo in 1999 and again to Dungannon in 2000 and on several subsequent emergency NI tours in support of the RUC dealing with the Drumcree Road situation. He later attended the Section Commanders Battle Course in 2001. During the Skill at Arms phase, he returned to 1 Para to deploy on Op Pallister in Sierra Leone with C Coy and returned to complete the Tactics phase with the result of attaining a distinction award and Best Student. During this hectic time, 1 Para moved to Dover in August 2000 to take over from 3 Para who moved to Colchester.

Broomfield was subsequently posted to the Infantry Training Centre (Catterick) as a Corporal Instructor from Sep 2001 to Dec 2003 before returning to 1 Para in Dover and attending the Platoon Sergeants Battle Course in early 2004. Promoted to Sgt in the summer of 2004, he began training for the last NI tour that 1 Para would complete in 2005 at Bessbrook Mill in South Armagh. He then returned to ITC(C) in Oct 2005 as a Platoon Sergeant. On Broomfield's return to 1 Para on Oct 2007 (now in MoD St Athan, South Wales) in his new role in the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG), he was assigned to D Coy and worked in the Operational Readiness Wing as one of the training SNCO’s. He described this as "a very busy time with new equipment, [with] skills to be quicky assimilated and delivered to the new Strike Coy’s in the group who were now on a vicious operational cycle".

In 2008 he was promoted to C/Sgt and was selected to be the inaugural exchange SNCO with the 75th Ranger Regiment in the US. Broomfield eventually made it to the Ranger Regiment in Aug 09 at Ft Benning, Georgia where he spent "two great years with our American comrades in arms, deploying twice to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. My third daughter was born at Fort Benning and is our token Southern Belle in the family".

Returning to SFSG in 2011, he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) and was Company Sergeant Major of D Coy followed by WO2 roles in Welfare and Ops. In 2015 he was one of the first two WO2’s to be selected for LE Commission which "was usually reserved for WO1’s up until then". In 2015 he was promoted to WO1 and was the RSM of SENTA and then subsequently was selected for an LE Commission into the Parachute Regiment.

Broomfield again returned to 1 PARA/SFSG in Apr 2016 as a newly commissioned LE Capt taking up the role of Welfare Officer in "an extremely busy operational tri-service unit". In 2018 he "was fortunate enough" to be the 2IC of B Coy going through the full ORM cycle with the company, including deploying operationally again. He then moved to be QM2 in the unit in June 2020 during the difficult COVID pandemic period. He then grabbed an opportunity to be a Civil Servant at St Athan and left regular service in Nov 2021. Finally, he joined 4 Para on Dec 2021 for a short spell before resigning his commission and terminating service on June 2023.

He has been married to Patricia since 2003 with three daughters. As he himself describes it: "I'm Scottish, Patricia is Irish, our eldest was born in England, second oldest in Wales and youngest in the US. It makes for an interesting time when the Six nations is on".