FEDERATION NEWS
RAF FF Presentation to the MoD Welfare Conference
‘None of the Above’
Chairman of the RAF Families Federation, Dawn McCafferty, delivered a speech to the MoD Welfare Conference on the 1 Sep 11. It centered on the unquantifiable contribution of the families and loved ones of those in uniform. Here is just an extract of Dawn’s speech given on behalf of all three Families Federations.
I
have just minutes in which to put across a tri-Service perspective on families and I am acutely conscious that I stand here with
the kind permission of my fellow ‘freedom fighters’ from the Naval FF and Army FF respectively. Thanks to both for allowing the ‘light blue’ musketeer to speak – I promise to be as purple as possible throughout!
I wanted to focus on what it is that families bring to the table in terms of contributing to operational effectiveness rather than focusing on what it is they need or deserve in return. But I will come to that, as it is at the heart of today’s Conference, it is at the core of the Armed Forces Covenant, and it underpins the RAF’s People Campaign Plan, the RN’s Plan for People and the Army’s Firm Base initiative.
I also wanted to put Service families into context, something we don’t always do, as we are so focused on doing what we can for our constituents. When we speak of disadvantage, we are all acutely aware that it is a relative term. In wider society, there is huge disadvantage evidenced every day. We see families living on the margins of society, where generations have not enjoyed paid employment, where literacy and numeracy levels are inadequate, where poverty beckons and where many youngsters face an uncertain future. Every day the media paints pictures of the suffering endured by the homeless, the disabled, the elderly, those afflicted by addictions, those suffering domestic violence and those who face discrimination as a result of race or religion. All these disadvantaged groups need support from those more fortunate than themselves and military families’ needs can pale into insignificance when viewed through a telescope focused on far wider societal deprivation.
20 Envoy Autumn 2011
In comparison, therefore, the average military family is in a relatively good place. At least one, and often both, adults in the family are in paid employment. All have access to subsidised accommodation, an allowances package to compensate for certain costs, and a community support and welfare structure that delivers facilities and staff aimed solely at making their lives easier. So what have they got to complain about? And why does the MoD invest so much time and effort into delivering welfare support to the Armed Forces Community? Why, indeed, are we all here today, exploring the need and identifying solutions? And why are all three Families Federations so busy, dealing with issues arising from military families across the world?
Well, as you all know, disadvantage for military families arises from the unique nature of military life. The unlimited liability inherent in military service, the requirement to deploy at short notice around the world and to endure long periods of repeated separation from those they love, set our personnel aside from those in civilian life. And it sets their families aside, too.
To join the Armed Forces is to embrace a new way of life, not just a job, and it is this that shapes the experiences of Service personnel and their families and can make it so much more difficult to transition back into civilian life after service. Their disadvantage is different and we need to ensure that we keep things in perspective if we are to retain the public’s support for the Armed Forces community. But the disadvantage is real and it is this that keeps the Government, the MoD, the single Services and the Federations constantly on the look out for ways to minimise the impact of mobile military life on families.
But why bother? Why not just accept that the disadvantage exists and Service personnel and their families sign up for that as part of the military deal? It’s a voluntary military, so the hard
line could well be: like it or lump it. But we don’t take that line because we recognise that families are the backbone of the military and that they make a definite but immeasurable contribution to operational effectiveness.
When a young man or woman is first considering joining the military, to whom do the majority turn for advice? Careers Teachers? Yes. Friends? Yes. Family? Most definitely. And as our young men and women mature and move through the various stages of life, the girlfriends and boyfriends, the partners and the wives and, in time, the children, supplement the support, offering love and support from a distance, sustaining those who face danger on a daily basis and, occasionally, pay the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
For many of these new family members, they didn’t ‘sign on the dotted line’ for a military lifestyle – they simply fell in love with the man or woman who had already accepted that commitment, or were born to them some time later, their lives already irrevocably shaped by the military environment into which they were born.
Many wives and partners will agree that they knew what they were taking on when they agreed to join the military community, but in truth, how many of them really understood what it is to be moved so frequently, to see their own careers sacrificed to support the partner’s uniformed progress, or to spend so many months afraid of watching the news and fretting at the end of the ‘phone? Such knowledge comes only with experience, of living it for real, and the courage of these family members who learn through bitter experience how to recognise and accept this lifestyle is something we should never be taking for granted.
Some call the families a ‘force-multiplier’, a presence that enables our uniformed personnel to go that extra mile, undertake that extra duty
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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