An Isle of Wight-born man has been recognised by His Majesty The King and awarded an MBE for his services to the NATO mission in Eastern Europe last year.

Included in the April 2023 Operational Awards List, Major Mark Player grew up in Bembridge and still has strong ties to the Island, with many friends and family here.

As deputy chief of staff on Operation CABRIT in Estonia, Maj Player was the staff lead for building a camp for more than 1,000 personnel and storage for more than 100 tracked vehicles in less than seven weeks.

On learning that he was going to be awarded an MBE, Maj Player said: “I am genuinely humbled to have been recognised in this way, especially in a year when so many have contributed so much at this pivotal time for NATO.

“I was lucky and privileged to be part of an excellent team at an exceptional time and am hugely grateful to our allies and my colleagues in Estonia, Poland, Finland and in the UK.

“That our small team was able to deliver at pace says much about the quality and teamwork of our military and civil service personnel, and I am thankful to have played a small part in supporting the Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Welsh and 2 RIFLES Battlegroups, the squadrons in Poland, and other force elements during their deployments.”

In his citation, it states that it was an ‘extremely complex task with huge reputational risk’ on top of the physical risks of cold and fire to personnel.

He also enabled five simultaneous operations, including a Royal Engineer squadron on the Polish/Belarus border and an additional armoured squadron to Poland. 

Through his work, the UK was able to project high-profile units across North-Eastern Europe and into Scandinavia, providing 'demonstrable reassurance' and support to allies.