We were invited to attend an event at the Army Reserve Centre in Great Warley in June 2023. The hosts, the 124 Transport Squadron, from the 151 Regiment of the Royal Logistics Corps made us really welcome with a reception with coffee and soft drinks to meet the attendees and network with the group.
151 Regiment RLC is London’s only Logistics Regiment who have supported overseas operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cyprus and more closely to home, we heard about the Olympics 2012, flood relief, the fuel strike, the ambulance strike, the fire strike and Covid19 support.
We sat down at one of the very well-presented tables, laid with poppadoms, naan breads and all the usual accompaniments to an Indian meal. We were joined by a group of friendly people from various Essex based businesses. After the delicious curry supper, we settled down to listen to some very interesting presentations and short films, introduced by Major P. Herlihy about how we can support the Armed Forces Community. The speakers explained to us the importance of The Armed Forces Charter and how it has benefited their businesses in a myriad of ways.
We signed the Armed Forces Charter last year, which was our pledge to support the Armed Forces Community to ensure they are not disadvantaged when moving into future careers. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation to ensure that those who risk life and limb in our defence are given respect, support and fair treatment, recognising the value of service leavers.
With this in mind, we offer CV reviews, careers and interview advice and a whole host of job and apprenticeship opportunities to help steer people into a new career direction, plus our Flex roles which are a great way to build a CV, try different working environments and industry sectors, which can be very useful during this challenging time.
The evening was intended for the attendees to understand more about The Armed Forces, what they do and how we can support them through their transition into civilian life. It became apparent that the thorough training, experience, community and lifestyle followed by this talented group of people leads to them being a uniquely driven, hard-working, loyal, pool of talent that any business would be proud to benefit from utilising.
We were treated to a series of moving presentations, where some of the members of the squadron were recognised for their accomplishments and a new Sergeant Major was also appointed.
Finally, we all filed outside to view exercise training sessions, to give us an understanding of the level of fitness required, handle the (unloaded) guns and rifles, both current and old, watch rifle training and were shown a set-up of the kit a soldier would be expected to carry, including bedding, rations, cooking equipment and shelter. It was surprising to feel how heavy it all was! The vehicles displayed were all available for us to clamber inside, so of course we did, even though it was so high!
What a great event and we look forward to continuing our dedication to the Armed Forces community and hopefully proceeding through to the next level of the charter.
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