Lieutenant Colonel Sulle Alhaji

Born in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Sulle joined the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment in June 1978 and was posted to Germany (during the cold war) as part of NATO’s European defence. During this time, he was deployed to Northern Ireland on his first active duty in 1979. In 1982 he took part in the Falklands War where his unit captured Mt Longdon. Thereafter, in 1984 he served 6 months in the jungle of Belize, Central America, protecting the border.

In 1986 he transferred into the Royal Army Physical Training Corps. During this time, he was assigned to several units within the Army, which also included another tour of Northern Ireland in 1989. He promoted up through the ranks and was commissioned to the rank of Captain in 2000 and was posted to ATC Pirbright as the Master At Arms. He was responsible for the common military syllabus physical training programme of all phase one recruits. Gaining more experience through a variety of jobs, he was selected for Lieutenant Colonel and was responsible for creating and managing the assurance policy for all physical, adventurous and sport development within the Army. In 2017, he took on a new assignment to create the Army Youth Outreach Team. The priority was to identify opportunities to engage with diverse youth communities across the country and inform them about life in the Army and to rectify any misconceptions they may have. His team also developed a suite of activities to enthuse, inform and educate students, thus improving their confidence and team cohesion. In the first year of operating the team won several awards, including:

Evcom Industry Awards for Training 2018.
European Diversity Awards Team of the Year 2018. (this was in conjunction with the Armed Forces Diversity Engagement Team).
Best Employers for Race 2018.

In 2018, Sulle received the Chief of the General Staff’s commendation for bravery. In 2019, Sulle had to retire from the services due to PTSD primarily from the Falklands war. He is currently receiving therapy whilst taking a sabbatical to recharge and refocus. Whereupon his aspiration is to recommence public speaking, especially to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds who need an authentic speaker so they can connect and aspire to emulate him.

On the 1st April 2020, Sulle had the incredibly rare honour of having a Troop (at the Army Training Regiment Pirbright) named after him for the inspiring work he was doing with disadvantaged youths around the country.