NAVY NEWS, JULY 2010 News and information for serving personnel


Government set out to put


Forces first


Federation. As part of his visit to Armed Forces Personnel to Afghanistan in June, David Cameron had this to say to the audience: “I want you to help me create a new atmosphere in our country, an atmosphere in which we back and revere and support our military.” He also said he wanted to “rewrite and republish the military covenant” – the pact of support between Britain and its armed forces – and put troops “front and centre of our national life again”. As the independent voice of Royal Navy and Royal


AS WE all await announcements and plans for what the future holds for all of us under the new Government, we have taken the opportunity in this issue of Navy News to break down into bite size chunks the details that have so far emerged from the Coalition Programme for Government, the area we have focused on is unsurprisingly Defence, writes Jane Williams of the Naval Families


in mind that NFF have the conduit to highlight Naval families concerns, so whatever you feel is important to put on the agenda, now is as good as it gets... Please note that DIB 201042 was published on June 14, this details the doubling of Operational Allowance, it’s not just for Afghanistan. Introduction of Service Families Warrant Officers in Portsmouth. Late May witnessed the start of a new and much-


welcomed initiative to improve the levels of support provided by the Naval Base Commander to residents of Service Families Accommodation (SFA) and Defence Estates’ housing officers in the Portsmouth port area.


Thanks to HMS Nelson, Excellent, Collingwood and Sultan, Capt Paul Lemkes, the Captain of the Naval Base, is now able to call on the Base Warrant Officers to assist him in carrying out his role as Local Service Commander for all SFA in the Portsmouth area.


Marines families we take forward your questions and concerns to a wide variety of forums and meetings, discussing trends and issues with not only the Chain of Command but up to and including Government Ministers and Ministerial Departments. This past year alone saw over 300 commitments to represent families, including the Serving member of the family. Now as we collectively look towards how policy change will impact on the Senior Service it is all the more important to make them aware of the consequences their policies and decisions make on the Naval Service family as a whole.


that we need to take action to safeguard our national security at home and abroad. “We also recognise that


Defence “The Government believes


Naval Base already play a central part in the local management of SFA, they are not always able, or best placed geographically, to provide the same degree of oversight of SFA estates that is more easily delivered elsewhere in the RN and which Senior Non- Commissioned Officers routinely provide at RM units and across the other Services. The Base Warrant Officers have each been given responsibility for a major, or group of smaller, SFA estates in the Portsmouth area and, despite this not being a full-time role, by working closely with Defence Estates’ housing officers,


we need to do much more to ensure that our Armed Forces have the support they need, and that veterans and their families are treated with the dignity that they deserve. n We will maintain Britain’s


nuclear deterrent, and have agreed that the renewal of Trident should be scrutinised to ensure value for money. Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for alternatives. We will immediately play a strong role in the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and press for continued progress on multilateral disarmament. n We will aim to reduce Ministry of Defence


running costs by at least 25 per cent n We will work to rebuild the Military Covenant


by:


Ensuring that Service personnel’s rest and recuperation leave can be maximised; Changing the rules so that Service personnel only


have to register once on the Service register; Exploring the potential for including Service children as part of our proposals for a pupil premium; Providing university and further education


scholarships for the children of Servicemen and women who have been killed on active duty since 1990; Providing support for ex-Service personnel to


study at university; Creating a new programme ‘Troops to Teachers’,


to recruit ex-Service personnel into the teaching profession; Providing extra support for veteran mental health


needs; and Reviewing the rules governing the awarding of


medals. n We will double the operational allowance for


Armed Forces personnel serving in Afghanistan, and include Armed Forces pay in plans for a fair pay review. n We will ensure that injured personnel are treated in dedicated military wards. n We will look at whether there is scope to refurbish


Armed Forces’ accommodation from efficiencies within Ministry of Defence. n We will support defence jobs through export


that are used for legitimate purposes, not internal repression, and will work for a full international ban on cluster munitions.’ We all look forward to the open consultation process that the Government is talking about, but please bear


NFF, the NPFS Community Resource Teams, the local Naval Provost headquarters, HIVEs and others, it is hoped that their engagement will strengthen the Chain of Command’s visibility of SFA matters. BBC Songs of Praise at Selly Oak Hospital Songs of Praise.


This episode marks the centenary of Florence Nightingale’s death and looks at nursing in its many guises throughout the last 100 years, including an interview from a Royal Naval nurse based at the hospital.


The episode will be broadcast on BBC 1 on July 25 2010. YouTube Did you know that MoD has a dedicated


Year in the life of NFF’, so to find out more about just how we represent the Royal Navy and Royal Marines families pick up a free copy or contact us... We have interesting times ahead, to get in touch with NFF and tell us your views: e-mail admin@nff.org. uk, tel: 02392 654374, or write to: Castaway House, 311 Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth, PO2 8RN.


The ongoing recruitment restrictions combined with significant staff turnover at all of the Housing Information Centres (HIC’s) has had a serious impact on Defence Estates’ ability to deliver and maintain an effective housing service. After very serious consideration it has been decided


News just in...


that with effect from July 1 2010, the telephone system into all the HICs will close at 1500 hours daily. This will allow staff to focus on non telephone related activities.


There will be the opportunity to email each HIC and details of the email addresses will be published in the near future. It is accepted that this will cause some inconvenience to our customers which is genuinely regretted. n Note from NFF, any changes and updates will be both on our website and in Navy News...


of Navy News, please ask your serving loved one to make sure that JPA Next of Kin details are up to date and correct. Homeport The current issue of Homeport magazine includes ‘A


A plea to all family members reading this edition


YouTube Channel? http://www.youtube.com/user/ defenceheadquarters JPA


Service personnel.


Birmingham, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine which provides care and rehabilitation for injured


popular, long running music and worship programme from the BBC has filmed an episode at Selly Oak Hospital in


the the Although Capt Lemkes and his staff in the


l Royal Marines on a patrol by PMT (Police Mentoring Troop) from Forward Operating Base (FOB) Jackson, Sangin


WITHIN his first month in office, Prime Minister David Cameron headed out to Afghanistan to meet the men and women of the military working in such harsh and demanding conditions. During his visit, the PM announced the doubling of the Operational Allowance (OA). The tax free allowance goes up from £14.51 to £29.02 per day, with payments backdated to May 6 2010.


appropriate area of six months will give personnel £5,281.64 tax free.


This means that an operational tour to an


The allowance is paid to Service personnel deployed on Op Herrick in Afghanistan, Op Telic in Iraq and on Naval operations in the Gulf on Coalition Task Force Iraqi Maritime (CTF-IM).


More money for front line


Picture: LA(Phot) Si Ethell


Payment comes in the form of a single lump sum, which is paid at the conclusion of operational service. And the first payments at the new rate will be made this month.


The change in the allowance is anticipated to cost an additional £57 million.


The Prime Minister also used his visit to Afghanistan to announce an additional £67 million of funding to combat the threat of IEDs (improvised explosive devices). However the recent Budget announcement of a two-year Public Sector pay freeze will affect members of the military who are earning over £21,000 – although the 2 per cent award decided by the Armed Forced Pay Review Body for 2010/11 is unaffected. (See DIB 44/10 for more detail.)


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