Soldier - Magazine of the British army

A PERSONAL view from Julie McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Army Families Federation. Log on to www.aff.org.uk for more information on the Army Families Federation

‘Time to speak up, Service spouses’

women standing with microphone speaking

SEPTEMBER 29 had better be circled on the calendars of all those Service spouses out there.

The date of this year’s Army Families Federation (AFF) International Conference, it is your chance to have your say and influence those whose decisions directly affect your lives and those of your family.

Before becoming a member of the AFF team I lived in Germany for seven years. I remember noticing the posters advertising the annual conference but never considered the event to be particularly relevant to me. As a fairly newly-wed, I had no kids, was in full-time employment and the only operational tour in sight was either Northern Ireland or Bosnia.

Having been to two conferences since, I now know how wrong I was.

Ahead of the big day, AFF staff across the world talk to families about the issues that affect them most and this year we also used an online survey to ensure that we reached as many people as possible.

We’re still analysing the results, but one of the highest reported concerns is the impact of operations on relationships. No surprise there, given the current op tempo and the stress associated.

Consequently, this year’s keynote speaker, Dr Tony Baker, will be talking about the effect of separation on families and, more importantly, how to cope with it.

I always remember a friend of mine telling me how she associated her father with toys but his homecoming with fear and shouting. He’d go away on ops or exercise for months on end and her mum would use him as a threat... “you just wait until your father comes home”.

As a result, when dad did come home she would be so scared that it took lots of presents on his part to win her round. It took years for them to rebuild their relationship and looking at it from the outside it is amazing that it wasn’t beyond repair.

Employment rarely features as part of the AFF quarterly report but for spouses answering our survey it was a priority issue. Not surprising given the difficulty most spouses have in getting a job, never mind maintaining some semblance of a career.

I’ve waxed lyrical about the abilities of Army spouses in previous columns but moving so often, finding yourself a single parent for long periods of time and with the added pressure of the current economic situation, it’s not surprising that employment is high on the hit list.

While the MoD cannot do a great deal to improve the employment prospects of individual spouses, they can bear in mind the difficulties being faced when making policy, posting and strategic decisions.

For example, how many soldiers use their full resettlement entitlement? I would hazard a guess at not many. If their credits could be transferred to their other halves perhaps families would face a more positive future on leaving the Army and it would be a form of payback to spouses for our time served following the flag.

As part of the survey we also asked why people choose to live in Service Families Accommodation (SFA).

So many of us bemoan their condition, their location and
the magnolia walls, so why do we continue to live in them?

I dream of the day that we will live permanently in our own home, but moving every two years has meant that so far it has been impractical. We tried it while living in Dorset but I found that I missed the patch life and having people around me who understood what our lifestyle is like.

When hubby got posted and started weekly commuting, that was the last straw. We didn’t get married to live apart and have enough enforced separation thanks to his job, so we sold the house and moved back into SFA.

From our survey it would seem that the majority of you feel the same way that I did.

Three quarters of families living in SFA do so because they do not want a weekly commute and they choose not to buy in the area that they are posted to because it is not home; they are only there for a relatively short time; and they cannot afford to do so.

When looking at the future of the Defence Estate these are important factors that the MoD must take into account and the AFF will be making the findings of our study available.

Without surveys such as ours, and the conference itself, Service families would be left without a voice.

So, whether you have issues with Army life or you are simply aninterested observer, please do make the effort to come along to the Army Families Federation Conference at the Institute of Education, Bedford Square, London, later this month.

Tickets must be reserved in advance. Visit www.aff.org.uk for more details.

www.aff.org.uk

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Author salutes military mindset

DURING the research process for his new book We Are Soldiers, writer Danny Danziger came across an aspect of the Army that both surprised and inspired him.
The title, which you can read all about in a future issue, features a series of first-person accounts from personnel explaining their true thoughts and emotions about the realities of serving their country.

When Soldier quizzed Danny on whether he was surprised by any of their frank tales, his answer was simple. The only thing that shocked him was the Servicemen and women’s passion for their job, even – and, in some cases, especially – when bullets start flying and their lives are in imminent danger.

His observation will strike a chord with anyone privileged enough to work with the Forces. Members of the Services display a dedication to their duty unmatched anywhere else and that is one of the main reasons Britain’s military is so highly-regarded around the world.

Not long after speaking to Danny, we were given a first-hand example of his point when Soldier met WO2 Darren Hugill during a trip to the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield.

The senior NCO has earned the title “Mr Mastiff” due to his single-minded dedication to introducing and developing the Army’s fleet of armoured vehicles based on Force Protection’s Cougar and it is easy to see why.

see Mastiff man to meet the man who spends hour-after-hour dreaming up ways to make the platforms safer, more reliable and more comfortable for deployed troops and designing training programmes to keep their skills and drills up-to-date.

It may appear to be a case of someone simply doing their job, but the reality is that he goes above and beyond the call of duty because the results of his work can save lives.

The Defence School of Transport is filled with similarly-focused troops whose efforts are keeping an operationally-busy military on the road (see Pass masters).

Knowing how to handle the multitude of vehicles in service is one thing, but mastering the soldiering skills required on Op Herrick is quite another. Luckily the pre-deployment training package continues to evolve and 16 Air Assault Brigade – the next to deploy – were quick to sing its praises (see Encore performance).

One thing the Forces can’t control is the weather, but commanders can do a bit better than relying on Michael Fish thanks to the Joint Operational Meteorology and Oceanography Centre.
The Northwood-based unit provides a raft of climate-related services, some of which are essential in giving troops on the ground in Helmand province a battle-winning advantage (see Forces of nature).

Their work also extends to those on adventurous training expeditions, such as the Joint Services Mountain Training Centre who welcomed us along to their annual meeting in the Swiss Alps (see Mettle detectors) to demonstrate how pitting a soldier’s wits against a genuinely-dangerous activity has operational benefits.

Among the other highlights for this month, we check out the latest sporting opportunities on offer for wounded troops, including karting, golf and sailing.

And as if to prove a point that soldiering really isn’t for civvies, you can read all about our calamitous attempt at commanding a Wolfhound in our latest Media Ops feature.