What's new this week?

Did you know that we are only 108 days away from Armed Forces Day 2012?   If you want to know what's being planned or if there's going to be an event in your local area, then visit the official website.

More Community Covenants have been signed in South Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.

We are busy working on our next podcast, hopefully to go live later in the month.  It's an interview with Alison Davies, Officer in Charge of the Veterans Welfare Service.    The interview follows the launch of our latest video on the Service, which you can view below . . .





There's details of a Wreath Laying Ceremony at Runnymede Memorial on our what's new page.  There's also an appeal by 360 Productions, who want to interview Second World War veterans from 100 Bomber Group.  Ladies can also be fabulous while raising money for the Erskine charity, at a lunch planned in May with celebrity host Jenny Eclair.

As we are moving closer to Spring (and hopefully warmer months), you might be starting to plan events that would be of interest to the Armed Forces Community.  Please don't forget to add details on our online events calendar.

Another Veterans WORLD issue hits the stands

The June issue ready to view

The June issue of Veterans WORLD is now online.

With articles on the Military Covenant, the changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and further information on the Bereaved Children's Scholarship Scheme, you can find information on issues affecting the Armed Forces Community.

There's also details on the new mental health helpline that's recently been launched and what's being planned for Armed Forces Day 2011.

We've also got some great features on Sea Sanctuary, a unique charity based in Falmouth, Cornwall, which combines Sail training with other therapies to support veterans.  We've also got an update on the Be The Boss scheme which is celebrating its first anniversary this month (perfect timing for this issue).  We've also news of a new Home and Money programme, employment support providing by two charities and a new centre in Scotland providing services to Scottish veterans with a visual impairment. 

Hopefully, there's something for everyone is this jam-packed issue, so why don't you take a look today.

You might also notice that we now have two ways to view Veterans WORLD online; you can either view the magazine as a standard PDF or you can use our new option to view Veterans World via ISSUU, a leading digital publishing platform that’s free to access. This new option will provide you with a more interactive, digital version of Veterans WORLD, which we hope will give you a more enjoyable and accessible way to read the magazine

We've also launched our latest podcast; in a role reversal the magazine designer Kris Blacow interviews Laurie Manton, our Editor-in-Chief about the June issue.

The Armed Forces Covenant

The tri-Service Armed Forces Covenant was published for the first time along with the announcement that with an amendment to the Armed Forces Bill, its principles will be enshrined in law.

The covenant is a statement of the moral obligation which exists between the nation, the Government and the Armed Forces.  Its core principles are that members of the Armed Forces Community do not suffer disadvantages as a result of their service and that they receive special treatment where appropriate. 

These principles, put into law through an amended Armed Forces Bill, will set the tone for future government policy dedicated to improving support for the Armed Forces Community.

The Government has also published ‘The Armed Forces Covenant: Today and Tomorrow’ where you can find details of  the current actions being taken to deliver the Covenant and future commitments being implemented over the coming months and years

The covenant can be downloaded  here.