Chambermaid in clean break

Sharon on patrol at RAF Akotiri in Cyprus.

Sharon swops hotel work for action with TA

SHARON McCormack swopped making beds and cleaning bathrooms for protecting soldiers in Southern Iraq.

The 32-year-old Mossley mother gave up her job as chambermaid at Manchester’s Britannia Hotel when she joined the Territorial Army in 2003.

Sharon, now Bombardier McCormack, has just returned home from a two-week infantry training exercise with her regiment in Cyprus.

She said: “We’ve done all kinds of things in Cyprus — lessons in section attacks, flying in helicopters. It’s the first time I’ve been in a helicopter. We were dropped off and then had to march to the exercise area.”

In 2004, Sharon was deployed to Shaibah in southern Iraq where she was required to act as look-out when the troops were on patrol.

Since 2003, more than 1,500 TA soldiers from the North-West have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

More information about the TA in the North-West can be found at www.armyjobs.mod.uk/northwest or www.nwrfca.org.uk