Ref. 28158-118FORMER Hreod Parkway pupil Karen Jacques has become the first female flag lieutenant to the highest ranking officer in the navy.

Coincidentally, the 29-year-old's boss, First Sea Lord Admiral Alan West, is the man who, in 1991, gave the order that allowed women to go to sea.

Lieut Jacques, from Blunsdon, whose maiden name was Hibberd, joined the Royal Navy that year, when she was just 18 and signed up for the full 22 years.

Four years later she was serving at sea in a fisheries protection vessel.

Then she joined HMS Norfolk as a boarding officer. It was there that she learned to board smuggler's boats by abseiling from a helicopter.

In 1998 her ship was sent to help deal with the troubles in Sierra Leone.

"I was asked to go ashore with the aid assessors and some UN observers," she said.

"They were all male and they wanted me to talk to the women to see how they had been treated."

The stories she heard, of abuse and suffering were like nothing she had experienced before.

"I suppose it was what you would call a life changing experience," she said.

But, she said her training helped her cope.

Last year she married fellow naval officer Marcus, also a warfare officer.

They met in the Falklands five years ago when they were both serving in HMS Leeds Castle.

"He was my boss for three weeks, but I was flown back to do some exams," she said.

"Then I walked into the control tower at RNAS Yeovilton and he was there. We went out for dinner that night."

They were only able to spend four weeks together before he was sent to the Gulf for seven months.

Lieut Jacques was one of a handful of young officers chosen to undergo a rigorous selection procedure for the post.

She will spend the next year working as a personal assistant to Admiral West, who became known to TV viewers after his ship HMS Ardent was hit by a missile and sunk in the Falklands War.

The job involves organising his diary, keeping notes and escorting him on official engagements ranging from visits by foreign heads of state to inspections at Sea Cadet units around the country.

"Before doing this I was a navigator for two years and that was the most challenging job I've ever done," said Karen.

"This isn't easy, but compared to navigating it is slightly less stressful."

After her post with the First Sea Lord she will start training to be a principal warfare officer in a ship and she says that eventually she'd like her own command.