AN ANDOVER man is swapping adventuring for advocacy as he offers his backing a new Army-led campaign.

Jordan Wylie will be lending his support to the British Army’s ‘Skills for Life’ campaign where he will be an advocate, promoting the skills that soldiers take into civilian life after their military career.

The campaign comes about as a result of a new polling which suggests that only 54 per cent of people believe the Army invests in its personnel, and only one in five believe it supports veterans.

Jordan, who left education early with no qualifications to join the British Army at 16 years old, served 10 years in the military with the King’s Royal Hussars.

The Army is well known for training its soldiers to serve on operations around the world, but military skills are not the only thing that soldiers learn and this is something the new campaign Jordan is involved in is seeking to highlight.

Jordan said: “The Army gave me confidence, but it also gave me practical skills that helped me build a career after leaving. I think a lot of people won’t be aware of how much the Army does to train its soldiers in all sorts of skills, which is why this campaign is so important.”

As well as highlighting these occupational skills, the new campaign will promote the values with which soldiers leave the Army, such as courage, discipline, and respect for others.

Jordan added: “The biggest thing for me about the British Army was the core values because they are the same six core values that I try to carry with me every day.

“I use them as a decision-making tool in everything I do and I try to spread them and encourage the next generation to do the same.”

Since leaving the army, Jordan has become an author, TV host, extreme adventurer and philanthropist, and last October he became the first person in history to row solo and unsupported across the most dangerous strait of water on the planet between the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

Jordan said: “I started the running and ‘rowing dangerously’ projects specifically to show people in the UK mainly cadets and school children that actually you can achieve anything you want in life if you truly believe it and are prepared to work hard and make the sacrifices required.

“I am a big advocate of embracing the spirit of adventure and getting outside for better mental health and well-being, this was something I learnt as a soldier.

“Also, I wanted to show people that if we all give a little bit and we try and make a difference we can have a huge impact on a global scale.”