Logistics Supply Specialist Flight Sergeant Tracy Marrs from Royal Air Force Wittering is a finalist at the everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards, sponsored by Amazon.
Image By: SAC Kimberley Waterson
Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) Marrs was nominated for the award, in recognition of her mentoring work with both Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Part Time Voluntary Reserve (PTVR) personnel. The nomination also recognises Flight Sergeant Marrs work as an RAF Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) Ambassador.
The value of mentoring is clear to Flt Sgt Marrs, she said: “It’s being there to support the individuals and provide the guidance and expertise to help them achieve their goals. From my perspective, it’s about understanding people and what they want to achieve in terms of their professional qualifications and abilities.”
As an FTRS Logistician, Flt Sgt Marrs works in the A4 Reserve Headquarters at RAF Wittering, where she ensures that the training for RAF Supply Reserves is flexible enough for their personal needs whilst fitting the operational requirement. It is a demanding job, but her wealth of experience means that she is suitably qualified for her role.
Tracy joined the RAF in February 1990 at the age of 19 and completed 27 years in the Regular Royal Air Force as a Logistics Supplier before joining to the Reserves in 2017. In her career she served at most of the major RAF Stations in the UK, and has been deployed to Afghanistan, Italy, Canada, The Former Yugoslavia, Bahrain and the Falklands.
A strong believer in the benefits of education and training, Flt Sgt Marrs’ most memorable tour was as a Logistics Supply Instructor at RAF Halton. Tracy said: “I always wanted to be a teacher and that role gave me the closest experience to teaching I could have had. I was able to adapt the training to meet individuals’ learning styles and many of the people I taught have gone on the be successful in the RAF.”
Image By: Supplied Image
Now in their 15th year, the Amazon everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards celebrates the vital contribution women make to Transport and Logistics, where it showcases progression, accomplishments and increasing avenues of opportunity for women within a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Flight Lieutenant Chris Smale is a logistics officer working in Support Force Headquarters. He said: “Flight Sergeant Marrs is a great mentor, who I still rely upon now and will do in years to come. She is an inspirational person who has helped so many of today’s logistics tradespersons.”
Speaking of her nomination Flt Sgt Marrs said: “It’s nice to be recognised within my profession and it endorses what I do and will give me more confidence to excel further in my future training and mentoring engagements. I’d like to thank my line management for nominating me. They give me a lot of freedom to be who I am and trust me to do what I need to do.”
Squadron Leader Fay Davies said: “Flt Sgt Marrs is thoroughly deserving of this nomination. A highly capable and dedicated individual she is an excellent role model who works hard to inspire future talent.”
