The Countess of Wessex visits the Royal Military Academy

The Countess of Wessex, as Colonel-in-Chief of QARANC, visited the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst to unveil a painting commemorating Operation 'Gritrock'. Operation 'Gritrock' was the code name given to the deployment of forces to West Africa to combat the Ebola virus epidemic.

Her Royal Highness listened to a presentation on the Operation by Colonel McCourt, the former CO of 22 Field Hospital. The Countess heard about the personal experiences of those deployed, how the pre-deployment training prepared them for the role and the collective and personal challenges encountered throughout the deployment and on returning to the UK.  

The Countess unveiled a painting, 'What Matters Most', which was commissioned to commemorate the Operation. After meeting the artist, Stuart Brown, Her Royal Highness met personnel involved in training and initial deployment and was shown examples of the personal protective equipment used during the Operation.