Armed Forces Covenant

Armed Forces Covenant

Off By Ed Hanna

The Armed Forces Covenant logo is a lion rampant – flying the Union Flag. It could hardly be more appropriate.

The Armed Forces, after all, act as peace-keepers and ambassadors for the United Kingdom the world over; flying the flag. Accredited organisations carry on that tradition back on civvy street, committing, through the Armed Forces Covenant, to making sure that they “acknowledge and understand that those who Serve or who have Served in the Armed Forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they Serve with their lives.”

In practice, the Armed Forces Covenant can include a huge variety of support and services for Forces personnel and their families. Key areas include help with some of the more crucial aspects of resettlement such as finding a civilian home, access to health-care and financial advice. Once you’re established, a little further digging will help you to uncover specifically designed discounts and deals on everything from motor insurance to broadband and phone packages – as well as important commitments to helping Service-leavers into jobs where they can use transferable skills acquired in the Forces.

Decision

To many companies and organisations with distinct Military connections, signing the Armed Forces Covenant is an obvious and easy decision to make. Chess Dynamics, for example, is a high-tech’ electro-optic, electro-mechanical engineering company, based in several sites in the south of England and has been supplying the MoD with EO surveillance systems since the mid-nineties.

Sales Director at Chess, Dave Eldridge, told Civvy Street Magazine: “The company has recently been accredited as member of the Armed Forces Covenant and we are proud to boast a number of ex-Service personnel among our ranks. Apart from their day-to-day jobs as field service engineers or in project management, business development and as sales executives, these individuals provide that essential unquantifiable user perspective as new systems are designed, manufactured and brought into service. It also enables Chess to stay in touch with the user community both in the Navy and the Army and this, frankly, is invaluable, because it is people from the Services who help us to ensure that their compatriots get the best available kit, designed and manufactured in the UK.

We have ex-Soldiers, Sailors and an Airman, all of whom bring their own unique qualities and characteristics to the job. Chess understands the qualities that ex-Servicemen and women bring to industry and we would like to increase the numbers on our payroll. We take immense pride in our products and when the Military comes to us to provide solutions, we are justifiably proud and this runs through the entire company.”

Organisations that have signed the Armed Forces Covenant operate in all sectors and industries. The Armed Forces Covenant website has a useful search tool to help you find organisations in your local area that ‘fly the flag’.

Visit: www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk