An updated covenant reflecting our renewed pledge to support service personnel, veterans and their families, was signed by our chief fire officer on Monday (1st Dec).
First signed back in 2014, the covenant is now signed under the combined Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire service for the first time, by its new chief Sabrina Cohen-Hatton.
Wing Commander Ian Evans, Commanding Officer of 78 Squadron – the RAF unit embedded within National Air Traffic Service at the site formerly known as RAF Swanwick – acted as the military co-signatory, and was joined by Andrew Gibbs from the South East Reserve Forces and Cadets Association and WO Kirsty Webber, as well as Deputy Chief Fire Officer Shantha Dickinson.
The armed forces covenant is a promise that we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, including the bereaved, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy, and society they serve with their lives.
“Signing the armed forces covenant demonstrates our commitment to recognising the contribution members of the armed forces can make to our organisation.“Many of the skills and attributes trained and developed within the armed forces are transferable to various roles across the fire service.“The area we serve boasts a large armed forces community, so it is vital that we understand and reflect their values to deliver the best service.”
The covenant reaffirms our commitment to the armed forces and follows the Service attaining a silver award as part of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.
Former naval and current reserves officer, Luke Holdcroft, is a crew manager at Winchester Fire Station, and is the chair of the brand-new HIWFRS FireFORCES staff network group. He said:
“This re-signing demonstrates Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service’s ongoing dedication to creating an inclusive workplace and working alongside the armed forces community.
“As a network group we look forward to working in close co-operation with teams across the Service to help bring these pledges to life for the benefit to both our employees and our communities.”
FireFORCES aims to bring together and streamline all strands of work within HIWFRS involving armed forces communities both internally within the Service, as well as our communities. These include veterans, reservists, cadet leaders and families of those serving in the armed forces.
The network group also seeks to provide a supportive network to employees who are part of our armed forces community.
The network group will work alongside our already established groups which support ethnic diversity, gender equality, those with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community.
