HIS mum calls him a softie, but Steven Oates has just completed 32 weeks of gruelling training as a Royal Marine commando.
Steven, 25, of Pine Hall Drive, Monk Bretton, will now wear the green beret after finishing what an army spokesman describes as the hardest initial training in the world.
His training involved escaping from an overturned helicopter underwater, carrying injured men in timed runs and completing a 30 mile trek with a full two stone kit in eight hours.
Mum Lynn Andrews said he does not come across as a tough guy, however.
“I don’t think he’s tough. He’s a softie, I think. He’s kind and he’s loving. Obviously as his mum, I’m going to say that.”
Steven has now been posted to Arbroath in Scotland, but will soon move on to Norway before he is sent to serve in Afghanistan this time next year.
Steven's passing out ceremony was at the Commando Training Centre in Devon earlier this month.
