FEDERATION NEWS
Looking A
t her initial interview for the job in Jul 07, Dawn stated her intent to create a Federation that would be
‘seen as a friend to all members of the RAF family – a listening ear, a guiding hand and an independent voice, willing and able to translate the day- to-day irritations of RAF family life into action plans aimed at influencing policy and strengthening the bond between the RAF and its families’.
Dawn wanted the new Federation to: ‘provide an independent voice for RAF families, working alongside the RAF staffs and RAF families to provide essential 2-way communication’.
Dawn recognised early on that evidence would be at the heart of our work and that the Federation would need to devise effective ways of gathering evidence from as wide a range of families as possible. She said, “By gathering evidence of the issues
OVER OUR by Ann Dewar
As Dawn McCafferty, hands over the Federation to her successor, we look back on the first five years of the RAF Families Federation and assess how far we have come in meeting her original objectives when she was selected to be the first Chairman of this new organisation.
being raised by families, the Federation could represent their views and aspirations to those who could make a difference – the policy makers and the senior staffs, be they in the RAF
, MoD or in Government.
“Work from evidence-based reports in a non-emotive manner, earning the trust and confidence of families and those in authority, so that the Federation could speak out on a wide range of family-related issues and be a valuable instrument for change”.
Finally, Dawn expressed a strong desire to: “Ensure that RAF families are represented at the highest levels in terms of policy development and provision of support. The Federation can deliver a powerful network to RAF families, signposting them to the many expert agencies that exist, whilst preserving their right to confidentiality.”
It’s fair to say that the Federation hit the ground running in 2007 and hasn’t slowed
down since. Dawn is renowned for her personal energy and enthusiasm and we think we all deserve medals for keeping up!
Every year has seen new challenges for the RAF and its families and every year has seen the Federation respond to the best of its ability and within its limited resources to deliver just the type of high-level engagement and representation that Dawn envisaged from the outset.
Working in close collaboration with key players in the other Service Families Federations and creating strong links with MoD and Air Command staffs, the Federation was soon making its voice heard in the corridors of power and has taken every opportunity to represent RAF families on a wide range of topics.
The advent of the Service Personnel Command Paper, which eventually morphed into the Armed Forces Covenant, provided unprecedented opportunities for the three
SHOULDER
22
Envoy Autumn 2012
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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