News

7th June 2018: OA Insight – LinkedIn Workshop – Swindon

This event is being held by the Officers Association in partnership with Recruit For Spouses. The event is open to officers and/or their spouses.

This workshop is a brilliant opportunity to learn how to amend your profile so that it shines to employers and your network contacts. Bring along your laptop and edit as you learn with Lincoln Coutts, LinkedIn expert and Social Media Consultant.

Read more

Secretary of State for Defence special guest at the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity

The Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE, was a special guest of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity last month.

The Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire met staff from the national charity of the Royal Navy alongside guests from Veterans Outreach Support (VOS) and the Portsmouth City Council.

Mr Williamson’s visit to Portsmouth coincided with the announcement that HMS Queen Elizabeth will soon travel on its first major overseas deployment to New York. As the aircraft carrier’s affiliate charity, the RNRMC will play a role in supporting the sailors on board, many of whom will be deployed for up to 9 months at a time.

Read more

Forces Radio BFBS Middle East Goes LIVE in Bahrain

The UK’s Naval Support Facility (UKNSF) in Bahrain now has its own radio station, as Forces Radio BFBS Middle East goes on air for the first time across the base this morning.

The station will broadcast live from Bahrain for six hours on weekdays from 6am -12 noon (local time) and from 6am-9am on Saturdays. The Breakfast Show will also be heard across the station’s extensive UK network during an early slot.

Read more

Legion urges Service Leavers and Veterans to ‘get help early’

Call to arms to help Armed Forces community access housing support as soon as possible

THE ROYAL British Legion is today calling on Service leavers and veterans to ‘get help early’ as they adjust to civilian life.

Not everyone struggles with the transition and, for many, difficulties with housing might not occur for many years after Service. Issues often arise due to unforeseen circumstances such as relationship breakdowns or financial complications however, the transient nature of Service life, confusion over how to access support services, and often a reticence to ask for help, can cause a unique set of challenges for the Armed Forces community.

Read more

How a Career Consultation Helped Antony

Antony was forced to leave the Royal Marines for health reasons, but an OA career consultation provided the turning point he needed to find new employment.

Shortly after joining the Royal Marines, Antony Thompson was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2009. He later served in intelligence roles, and then in 2013 was selected for officer training. Unfortunately, he was injured on the course, forcing him to take administrative roles for two years as a Lieutenant, before receiving a medical discharge in April 2017.

Read more

11th October 2018: Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre Conference 2018: Evidence and Policy for Veterans and their Families

The inaugural Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre (FiMT RC) Conference, sponsored by Lord Ashcroft, is being held on 11 October 2018 at Church House in Westminster. The conference will focus on research into veterans and their families from the perspectives of academics, policy makers and service providers, and will cover the processes, challenges, benefits and impact of research, highlighting opportunities for research funding and collaboration during four concise sessions. There will be plenty of scope for networking, questions and discussion. Speakers include Lord Ashcroft PC KCMG, Tobias Ellwood (Minister for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel), Hans Pung (Chair, RAND Europe), Professor Mike Thomas (Vice Chancellor, UCLAN) and Air Vice-Marshal Ray Lock CBE (Chief Executive, Forces in Mind Trust).

Read more

Bridge Leisure Donation

Give Us Time is delighted to announce that Bridge Leisure has kindly donated 50 breaks to military families in need. The breaks will be throughout the year and at various locations across the UK.
These include near the Moray Firth, Scottish Borders, Yorkshire coast and Cornwall. For more information on these parks and all of their other locations please visit.
The parks have different facilities which go from indoor pools and children’s adventure playgrounds to bars, restaurants and entertainment evenings!

Read more

Army&You – Summer Edition

The perfect work-life balance may seem impossible to achieve in Army life but times are changing. In this edition’s main feature, we hear about the Army’s plans for Flexible Service and meet the families who are fitting work around unpredictable schedules and long spells of separation.

Heading overseas, we hear from the Army families who have continued their education and training, maintained their professional registration and even diversified from their original careers.

We shine the spotlight on Cyprus, London and Kinloss and there’s an inspirational story from Everest Base Camp.

Read more

Highlights video of 2018 Soldiering On Awards

See the highlights video from the 2018 Soldiering On Awards which took place in the presence of Awards Patron the Rt Hon Earl Howe PC.

Join us once again in congratulating all of our amazing Awards Winners.

Our thanks go to Jeremy Vine and Vicki Michelle MBE for being such fabulous hosts for the evening and to Carly Paoli for her outstanding performance including a special tribute to RAF 100.

Read more

Charity launches new initiative to support young people from Armed Forces families living in Scotland

A new tri-service youth participation project which aims to improve support and services for children and young people from armed forces and veteran families living in Scotland has been given the green light today thanks to funding from ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.

The national youth participation project, which will run for 3 years is being launched by Scotland’s Armed Forces Children’s Charity, the Royal Caledonian Education Trust (RCET). The project has been informed by the success of a pilot series of mini-conferences, as well as a number of other ‘listening to the voices of children and young people from Armed Forces families’ initiatives that have been rolled out by the charity in recent years.

Read more
Items 51 to 60 of 515
Our Executive Members

By @Cobseo 54 years ago

Afghanistan support

In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here