Serving personnel and their families overseas have always had unique needs, but considering the diversity of the locations across the world in which the army can be posted and the differences in assignments, these needs might not always be recognised.
For example, AFF data shows that 36 per cent of enquiries last financial year to our Employment and Training team were about spousal and partner employment overseas.
LACK OF INFO
From the evidence gathering work that we do, we know that a key struggle for families can be access to up-to- date, accurate and honest information about overseas locations, which makes the decision on whether or not to go more difficult.
All the information you provide us about your experiences overseas has enabled us to highlight these to the army, MOD and key charity funders to demonstrate some of the disadvantages that service personnel and families may experience.
FOUR-YEAR PROGRAMME
Through this work, AFF was delighted to be awarded a grant of £500,000 from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to deliver a four-year programme, Valuing Forces Families Overseas (VFFO), in partnership with the Naval Families Federation and the RAF Families Federation.
The tri-service programme consists of projects that will support the cycle of overseas assignments. Although we like to consider ourselves experts on many aspects of service life overseas, we’re always keen to learn more!
Therefore the first project launched this summer was a research project, which aims to discover hidden need among our community and pinpoint where support is most needed.
It is hoped that the findings will inform the VFFO projects and improve them to help us better support you. However, we can’t do this without your help; keep an eye on our social media to find out how you can get involved.
PRE-DEPLOYMENT BRIEFS
Another VFFO project recently launched is our pre-deployment briefs – virtual tools which will help with decision-making on whether your life is compatible with a particular overseas location.
For example, what’s the housing and healthcare like? Is there 16+ schooling? Will I be able to work? Through interactive webinars, the overseas teams from the three families federations will provide virtual support to those contemplating overseas life.
Looking forward into 2026, VFFO will also be launching two additional projects, one that focuses on spousal and partner employment overseas, and another which provides a tri-service website containing information about different assignments around the world.
We’re really excited to be delivering this programme, and wherever you are in the world, AFF is here to support you.