Cannons were fired across the nation’s capitals earlier this week, while a fly-past of Red Arrows and Typhoons coloured the London sky, to celebrate several military landmarks.
Britain's Territorial Army (TA) is marking 100 years of service, while the RAF celebrates its 90th anniversary.
I have the utmost respect for military personnel, people who put their lives at risk to 'to serve and protect', so to speak.
And none more so than TA reservists who seem to live parallel lives, having to juggle civilian lfe with deployment on the battle field for months at a time.
The 35,000 TA reservists are proof that soldiers and military minded personnel can provide the corporate and business sectors with skills gained while serving their country.
Speaking on behalf of TA employers, Anne Minto OBE, group HR director at energy company Centrica, said employers recognised the skills and experience that service in the reserve forces bring to employees, "particularly in areas such as leadership, teamwork and thinking under pressure."
"Supporting reservists in the workplace can be a challenge, particularly for small businesses, but employers should be reassured that advice and support is available through SaBRE to help them, particularly when employees are mobilised," Minto added.
And the Ministry of Defence (MoD) became the first public sector body to join McDonald's, low-cost airline operator Flybe and Network Rail in a scheme that enables organisations to have their own staff training accredited nationally.
The MoD is part of a second tranche of employers to achieve awarding body status, announced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
The MoD will initially trial a 'survival French' course, among other languages targeted for inclusion in the programme from the autumn onwards.
Commander Andy Cropley, commanding officer of the Defence School of Languages, said: "The linguistic skills attained by soldiers through intensive language courses merited national recognition.
"The specific languages and contexts for which we train have hitherto made this very difficult to achieve but now we have the ability to ensure that military language skills, at whatever level, are understood by those outside the services," Cropley said.
A large number of defence personnel will look for a second career, upon leaving MoD employment. It is great to see that their skills attained while serving their country, will be transferred into civilian work.
Comments (1)
At last; someone who recognises and appreciates the dedication, hard work and importance of our reserve forces.
Thank you for your kind comments and endorsement of the respect we should all have for the courageous and vital work our nations reservists undertake daily. They are all too often forgotten.
It should be noted that 2008 is also the Centenary year of a little known but equally vital organisation - the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association, who support our cadets, reserve forces and employers in many ways.
Congratulations to the TA and the RFCA on their centenary celebrations - hopefully this will raise their profile and the nations respect in one fell swoop!
Posted by Nina Watson | April 4, 2008 4:44 PM
Posted on April 4, 2008 16:44