M e s s a g e s
FOREWORD BY THE CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF
a new beginning in the RAF’s relationship with families of Service personnel, and represents a significant financial investment in an organisation that is aimed at delivering an independent voice through which families can raise issues of concern.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy RAF I
am delighted to see this first edition of the new magazine of the RAF Families Federation and hope that all family members will find
something of interest and value in the publication. Te launch of the RAF Families Federation marks
FOREWORD By The Air Member for Personnel I
have watched with increasing optimism as this new Federation has evolved over the past few months and I am confident that the team can, and will,
deliver a meaningful service to RAF families. I am delighted, therefore, to endorse this first edition of its magazine Envoy and commend it to you as part of a wider communication network that will enable the Federation to keep in touch with RAF families.
In seeking to represent the views and concerns of family members, including those in uniform, the RAF Families Federation aims to work in partnership with my own staff. Such a partnership will ensure that those responsible for developing family-related policies are aware of the impact these will have on the RAF’s families, who support the Service
day in, day out, over many years and in circumstances that civilian colleagues would find difficult to understand.
Some would say that the RAF leadership does not take into account what families think and others that there is simply no point in the Federation as it has no authority to achieve anything meaningful.
I do not subscribe to either view. If
we look at the excellent work delivered by the Naval and Army Families Federations in representing the views of their respective families to senior staffs and Ministers, we can see that the combined voice of military families can be a very powerful one and one that is genuinely listened to if the issues raised are backed up by evidence.
This is where you come in. If you have a concern about an issue that you feel is impacting negatively on you and your family, contact the Federation and working
together provide the evidence with which it can challenge existing policies and procedures. Just as important, if you think something is working well or a new initiative is delivering positive results for families, why not let the Federation know so it can provide appropriate feedback? Without your input, Dawn McCafferty and her team can achieve little so I urge you to make best use of the Federation’s independent voice to ensure that your views, good and bad, are heard and do have a positive effect on the RAF Community.
Air Marshal Stephen Dalton RAF
The RAF Families Federation working in Partnership with HIVE
T
he RAF Families Federation and the HIVE HQ staffs have agreed a Memorandum of
Understanding to ensure that the 2 organisations work in partnership in support of RAF families.
Using HIVE Information Officers at RAF units as a source of information on issues impacting on RAF families, the RAF Families Federation will use that evidence to influence policy-making at the highest levels, whilst providing vital feedback via HIVEs on issues of interest to RAF families.
Chairman of the Federation, Dawn McCafferty, says: ‘I am delighted to be working in partnership with
such a well-established, respected and professional organisation and my team and I look forward to developing a strong relationship with HIVE staffs across the RAF’.
Yetti Dutton, Director of HIVE UK & Overseas, echoed this view and sent the following message to the new Federation: ‘We send our warmest congratulations to the Royal Air Forces Association on being awarded the contract by the RAF to establish and manage a new RAF Families Federation. We wish Dawn and her team every success and look forward to working alongside the Federation in support of RAF families everywhere.’
Winter 2007 3
Whilst the chain of command, the policy staffs and the senior executive remain open to suggestions for improving the lives of RAF families, we are acutely aware that sometimes an external and independent service can deliver more powerful representation, and that many families would prefer to take their concerns, at least in the first instance, to the Federation.
Dawn and her staff stand ready to advise you on the many experts who are available to help with a broad range of family-related issues but, more importantly, the Federation will provide a valuable means of gathering evidence to influence family-related policy at the highest levels. If you have a concern about the way that RAF life impacts on you and your family, contact the Federation and help them deliver meaningful reports that can make a real difference. Please remember, this is your organisation, and for it to work it needs your involvement and active support.
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