Life In The Firing Line
Dougie Pullen’s career with NAAFI is a remarkable story having joined the business in November 1970 as the organisations lowest grade clerk at the NAAFI European Service HQ in Waldniel, Germany.
Whilst he initially considered this to be a temporary role, after three years Dougie’s incredible rise up the NAAFI ladder saw him posted to Hong Kong and given responsibility for managing the country Head Office as the Official i/c Administration! This position was located in a Barracks that, in the 2nd World War, had been a Japanese Prison of War Camp – and Dougie occupied the Commandant’s office!
After a period of training back in UK, in 1979 Dougie became District Manager at Catterick (North) and was responsible for locations halfway across the A66 from Warcop right up to Otterburn in Northumberland. Following this 2-year stint (where he also completed his EFI Basic Training), Dougie was then posted to Germany and became District Manager Dortmund where he broke the mound of the single servicemen’s shop into an all ranks’ facility. Inevitably this innovativeness (“No one likes a smart Alec!”, as Dougie puts it) saw him posted to the Falklands for 5 months as OC EFI in 1983. It was here that Dougie took command of the first female uniformed staff to deploy operationally with EFI since the 2nd World War.
On his return, Dougie became Assistant Manager Overseas Service in 1984 and due to minor distractions in Munster District and the Oman he once again commanded a small EFI team on Exercise Saif Sareea (Swift Sword). Although he didn’t know it at the time, this exercise proved to be the dummy run for the first Gulf War!
Following NAAFI’s decision to downsize in 1996, Dougie was appointed Head of Projects and Planning. Here he worked with the newly formed but short-lived XL Leisure department when NAAFI developed Clubs in the UK and introduced several successful brand concepts which aligned Junior Ranks’ Clubs to the High Street.
“Just as I was beginning to plan on how I might spend my redundancy cheque I was sent out to Germany to become our Military Liaison & Compliance Officer. This was because, during the restructuring process, we had committed the cardinal sin of trying to ‘go it alone’ and had distanced ourselves from our ‘sponsors’ – the military Chain of Command! I had the ‘enjoyable’ task of having to re-build bridges with not just the military staff in the Support Command Headquarters in JHQ, but all the Deputy Garrison Commanders too.
“Then, as Operators were moving forward with a much more ‘inclusive’ approach to the way we do business in Germany, the threat of going to war with Iraq loomed on the horizon. Before I knew it, I was on the aircraft and became the first EFI person to arrive in Kuwait in preparation for the 2nd Gulf war (or TELIC as we now know it). In difficult conditions, the team that was built around me were absolutely brilliant and incredibly brave, doing a job that enhanced NAAFI’s reputation ten-fold.”
Once the war was over, Dougie returned to Germany but following his experiences in Kuwait he admits he missed the buzz of working ‘in theatre’. Fortunately, he was ‘rescued’ 6 months later and asked to return to Iraq as EFI began to establish a more expansive foothold there. Then, just as his tour was coming to an end, Dougie was given what he calls ‘the best job in NAAFI’ – that of EFI Commanding Officer.
“EFI epitomises everything that NAAFI is about and I am humbled time and time again by the willingness of EFI people to put their customers before themselves in dangerous and unpleasant environments. Our role in an Operational theatre is more than ‘just’ operating retail and leisure outlets – it is about providing welfare support, in the truest sense of the word, which enables the troops to go about their task in a manner that is a source of great pride to me. Nowhere do we live our motto of providing a service to the Services more than in operational theatres. After all – this was the very purpose for which NAAFI was originally founded in 1921.
“I've had the most varied and interesting career imaginable with NAAFI, to whom I will be eternally grateful for giving me the opportunities. All in all, I have visited 47 countries in the world – and most of them through the duties of my employment. I have been so fortunate in my working life of 38 years and I owe everything to NAAFI for this fact!”
