FOREWORD
FOREWORD BY L
LADY NICKY PULFORD
ady Nicky Pulford joined us recently at the Families Federation and spent time with the team. We shared some highlights and also discussed some of the many issues currently
experienced by RAF personnel and their families. Lady Pulford is married to the Chief of the Air Staff and is a member of the SSAFA Council and the RAF Association Welfare Committee.
Recently I had the pleasure of visiting the Families’ Federation Headquarters at RAF Wittering and meeting the dedicated and hard- working team based there. I was delighted to be asked to write the forward for this edition of ‘Envoy’.
As a wife and mother I have been involved with service life for over thirty three years and, believe me, I have seen many changes during this time – more families are now choosing not to move around on posting and are staying put, more spouses are working and deployments seem to be getting longer and more frequent. So although times are changing, the problems that families and Service personnel experience remain the same; namely quality of life, accommodation, health, education, pay and allowances.
I know from experience that something which may seem trivial to start with can escalate into a major problem and become ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back’. So even if you feel that your problems are too minor to be important – they aren’t.
This is where the Families’ Federation steps up. They are there as your mouthpiece to the people who can really make a difference but they can only do this if they have ‘evidence’ from you. Please let them know what your problems are; fill in their surveys, e-mail them, telephone them or even
write them a letter! Unless they know what is troubling you they won’t be able to help. Tell them what they can do to help you overcome the problems and stresses of Service life so that you can get on with your own.
Don’t forget that the Federation is there for single personnel and reserves and their families too. The staff are friendly and approachable so please engage with them and help them to help you.
Apology
We would like to apologise to anyone who experienced delivery problems with the Spring 2015 edition of Envoy. The issue has now been resolved and we would like to thank you for your patience.
www.raf-ff.org.uk Envoy Summer 2015 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56