TWO-SIX
Airmen lead a new way
THREE Naval aviators have become the first in Royal Navy history to graduate from the Principal Warfare Officers (Aviation) Course at HMS Collingwood, Fareham. Members of the Aviation Community, Maritime Warfare School and Maritime Warfare Centre gathered for the graduations. Rear Admiral Russ Harding, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation and Carriers), commended the hard work and efforts of the staff and those who had been involved in making the inaugural course a success. After seven months of intensive training Lt Cdr Gavin Heirs, Lt Cdr Phil Barron and Lt Ben Hunt, who formed class 13/01, successfully completed the course. The course’s origins came from a recommendation by the Fleet Air Arm Manpower Sustainability Project Team to address the need for broader maritime and joint warfare training for aviators. It improves their career prospects for selection to senior appointments, including command assignments across the Fleet to the new Queen Elizabethclass ships.
The course encompassed joint battle space management, targeting, joint fires and air weapon effect. Lt Adrian Riley, who organised the presentation, said: “The true test of this first course will be in the individuals’ subsequent successful employment. “The eyes of the FAA will be on them. “With such interest in the course what happens next will enable us to further tailor the MWS product for the needs of the future.” Lt Cdr Heirs said: “All of us on course feel very privileged to be at the forefront of a new chapter in Naval aviation history. “This course is a huge step forward in additional Warfare training, achieving a level of parity with our surface Principal Warfare Officers for future command positions. “I’m looking forward to being able to use my new PWO(Av) qualification when I move to the CVF and Queen Elizabeth-class carrier air interface project in January.” Guests also witnessed a flyby from a Lynx Mk 8 from 815 NAS, RNAS Yeovilton.
l From left, Lt Cdr Gavin Heirs, Lt Cdr Phil Barron and Lt Ben Hunt
Navy pride as Service honoured by charity
THE Royal Navy has been named a top employer for creating inclusive workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees.
The Senior Service was placed 79th out of more than 700 leading employers by the charity Stonewall. Being ranked in the Workplace Equality Index (WEI) demonstrates to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and wider communities that they will be treated fairly due to an ongoing commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Gay people were allowed to start joining the Armed Forces in 2000 and since then the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force have worked to implement effective diversity strategies. The Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral David Steel, said: “This is an amazing result. To have regained our place in the Top 100, against even more challenging
l From left, Lt John Roberts, Stonewall’s Ben Summerskill and Brig Peter Cameron RN at the charity’s reception competition, is fantastic and an indication of the enormous amount of work that is going into this area. “Although the announcement of our place in the Top 100 is a result in itself, the most important fact is that our people
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have benefitted enormously by the culture change that has been generated in our service over the past few years.” Overall the Ministry of Defence won the award for Most Improved Employer in the Stonewall Workplace Equality
Index 2014. The award is given to the employer who makes the greatest improvement against the Index criteria in the previous 12 months and recognises the efforts made by the department for its 50,000 civilian employees. The MOD strengthened its performance in every area of good practice and was particularly praised by Stonewall for its work on community engagement which helped the department rise from 174th place last year to 35th in 2014. Defence Minister Anna Soubry said: “This is excellent news and reward for the hard work the department has made to create a positive working environment for its lesbian, gay and bisexual civilian employees. “The MOD and the three Services want to create a workforce that is drawn from the breadth of the society we defend, that gains strength from that society’s range of knowledge, experience and talent and that
welcomes, respects and values the unique contribution of every individual.” Particularly core to the department’s success has been the work done by their LGBT Network, a social and career support forum for LGBT civilian staff. Impressively, the network offers a range of support for the career development of staff members. Philip Oliver, chairman of the LGBT Network, said: “The LGBT Network has come into its own this year and I am really pleased that the MOD has received this award. “I pay credit to the commitment and professionalism shown by my colleagues across the department who regularly go the extra mile to ensure the MOD is an employer of choice for LGBT individuals.” There is now an official Royal Navy LGBT Facebook page and a Twitter account. Visit www. facebook.com/Royal-NavyLGBT or @RoyalNavy_LGBT
GALAXY 02-2014 – Royal Navy People Strategy – Tranche 1 What it means to you DIBS DIB 62/13 – DE&S Material Strategy – next steps DIB 63/13 – Chancellor’s autumn statement – implications for MOD DIB 64/13 – Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCPS) member contribution increases from April 2014 DIB 65/13 – Publication of the Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report DIB 66/13 – Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) Progress Report RNTMs RNTM 001/14 – Royal Navy Engineers Open Golf Championship 2014 RNTM 002/14 – RNSA Windsurfing Courses 2014 RNTM 003/14 – Medical Selection Boards for Pharmacy Services Skills, Medical Technician (Laboratory, Radiographer and Operating Department Practitioner RNTM 004/14 - HMS Tireless Decommissioning and Disposal RNTM 005/14 – CBRNDC Ship team training allocations RNTM 006/14 – Communications Security (COMSEC) Common Trends and Policy Changes DINS 2014DIN01-006: Late Entry (LE) Commissioning in the Army Air Corps (AAC) This DIN supersedes DIN 2013DIN01-028 2014DIN01-005: All England Lawn Tennis Championships – Wimbledon 2014 2014DIN01-004: Guidance notes for Service personnel applying for unsecured and secured credit - This DIN supersedes DIN 2013DIN01-043 2014DIN01-001: Support to Operations (S2O) Kit and Equipment - This DIN supersedes DIN 2010DIN01-212
Save cash on a car
ROYAL Navy personnel and their families can take advantage of a discount scheme to save money on a new car. The Defence Discount Service Car Programme could help Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families save up to £7,170, with average savings of £3,250, on each new car purchase. The deals feature eleven car manufacturers - Citreon, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Peugoet, Renault, Skoda and SEAT. To view the car discounts visit www.ddscars.co.uk.
Appeal in order to capture your comments Your views? Yes please We have some key meetings and discussions booked in the NFF diary, as ever it is your views and experiences that form the basis of our discussions, writes Jane Williams, Deputy Chairwoman. The NFF website will be hosting a series of polls to capture your comments during the year and one of the key diary dates for 2014 is at the end of February. NFF Webpoll: Meeting ministers We are speaking to two ministers – Dr Andrew Murrison re housing and the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare & Veterans, Anna Soubry MP at the Families Forum at the end of this month. What would YOU like us to say? This is an opportunity to raise your views and concerns with those who can make a difference. www.navynews.co.uk
Visit www.NFF.org.uk to give us your feedback. It is just one question, with an open text box for your response. NFF Webpoll: MoneyForce Have you used the MoneyForce website? Was it useful? We are running a poll in conjunction with MoneyForce and the Army and RAF Families Federations. We want to know your views on this finance awareness site, which has been designed specifically for the Armed Forces community. Visit www.NFF.org.uk to give us your feedback. Personal, Family and Community Support (the new structure and name for NPFS) PFCS Vision – ‘Resilient and resourceful Naval Service Personnel,
Families and Communities’. Work has been ongoing to deliver a comprehensive review of the way in which the Navy delivers welfare and other services that support individuals and families in dealing with the challenges that life in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines brings. Over the coming months the PFCS (NPFS) team will be implementing the changes so people will start to see the differences, particularly in the ways they can get in touch with PFCS (NPFS) and in the way enquiries are handled. There will also be improvements in the provision of welfare and family information, the management of community development work, and the way that work carries forward to ensure Naval families don’t miss out on bigger initiatives such as the Armed Forces Covenant.
Please keep your eyes peeled for further updates on the Personal, Family and Community Support organisation in the spring issue of Homeport and in Navy News. Become a Mental Health First Aid Trainer The government has launched an initiative to train members of the Armed Forces community in the mental health equivalent of first aid skills. The Armed Forces Mental Health First Aid programme is looking for those that wish to train as course instructors. The fully-funded instructor training course is running throughout 2014 in various locations. Once trained, the instructors will deliver the Mental Health First Aid course to the wider Armed Forces community. Full details can be found via www.NFF.
org.uk Service Families Employment Course LifeWorks Families is a free, short course for the spouses and partners of Service personnel who wish to achieve sustainable employment. Designed around the unique challenges of Service family life, the course equips partners with the skills and confidence to develop their own careers. The courses are provided by Royal British Legion Industries. There are several courses planned in early 2014, at locations across the country. For further details contact: lifeworks@rbli.co.uk, phone: 0800 319 6844 or visit www.rbli.co.uk To contact the NFF write: Castaway House, 311 Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth. PO2 8RN. Tel: 02392 654374. E-mail: admin@nff.org.uk. FEBRUARY 2014 : 35