Across the Irish sea

WHEN Army spouse Sarah and her soldier received their three-year posting to Aldergrove, Northern Ireland they were excited to come to the province along with their children Emilia and Alfie-Jay. AFF’s NI Co-ord...

Should I stay or should I go?

Here at AFF, families often ask us how they can retain their Service Family Accommodation (SFA) when posted. It’s only available for very specific reasons such as for public exams, a short-notice posting, mov...

Shuffling the surplus

AFF Housing Specialist Cat Calder provides a timely reminder on the sublet programme and how it works… There are currently approximately 11,400 empty SFA in the UK – many are being held for the last remain...

School Report: Alverstoke CofE Junior School

Army&You highlights the excellent support that schools worldwide show our military children. This edition, we're heading to Alverstoke Church of England Junior School in Gosport, Hampshire, which has 45 Ser...

Sharing experiences

Rebecca Wakefield (pictured above), head of community support for the Army Welfare Service, tells us about her role... How do you work with Service families? My role is to lead the play, youth work and ...

Gathering evidence

ARMY&YOU caught up with Phil Dent (pictured above), head of community engagement, social justice and impact at the University of Winchester, to find out more about its role in the Service Children's Progres...

My career, my terms

ARMY spouse Sophie Fernandes-McLaren says she feels like she’s about to ‘have her cake and eat it’ after completing the six-month Digital Mums social media manager course, won in a competition run by AFF. Fro...

On track for training

MANY spouses and partners find themselves considering starting or changing their career path. AFF Employment & Training Specialist Laura Lewin offers advice on training courses… I frequently receive en...

Blogspot: Tackling separation one page at a time

WHEN I give talks in schools about Reading Force, I usually start by asking children for the positives of Forces life, writes Alison. I love to hear the pride they express in their Forces parents; how proud ...

Light at the end of the tunnel

A FEW years ago, I knew a soldier who was strong, confident and independent, writes Maj Clair Robinson-Kirk. She had a good job, was recently promoted, happily married and planned to have a family. After the i...