Sponsored by SSAFA
https:// https://www.ssafa.org.uk/about-us
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/support-us
————————————————————————-
24 Nov 23. We’re putting veterans at the heart of government.
An Op-Ed by Johnny Mercer, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, originally published in The Express.
Every week I speak to veterans across the country about what we’re doing in government to make this the best place in the world to be a veteran.
While in the past, services for veterans have often been lacking, now, under this Prime Minister, what it feels like to be a veteran is being fundamentally transformed.
Over the last year we have seen £5m given to fund new healthcare innovations, a commitment to end veteran homelessness this year through Op Fortitude, including through a substantial investment in housing, and a new dedicated health pathway for the physical needs of veterans, called Op Restore. This will run alongside the dedicated veterans mental health pathway, Op Courage. And today’s Autumn Statement will also see more stepped up support for our veterans, with £10 million for mental health services, including those who are homeless, isolated or elderly.
Sometimes in my conversations with veterans though, I hear frustration that the services that our ex-military are trying to access, can be too complicated, confusing and too slow.
Whether it’s finding out about employment and skills, accessing healthcare, or looking for information on their Armed Forces pension, finding your way around the network of support services can be challenging.
So that’s why, for the first time we asked an independent review to look back and take stock on the totality of veteran support available and look at how we can make it more effective and efficient.
Today (Tuesday 21st Nov) I updated the House of Commons on how we will take improvements forward, accepting most of the review’s recommendations.
The first major change is that the Veterans UK brand will be phased out and retired next year, with a replacement to be announced in due course. Many great staff work very hard delivering welfare services for veterans under this banner, but they have sometimes been held back by old fashioned processes. I know this has caused frustration in the veteran community and so we’ll deliver an improved service for them.
So this change marks a vital step forward in better communicating the variety of services that the Ministry of Defence provides to not only veterans, but those in the military, their families and the bereaved community. The MOD’s digitisation programme, backed by £40m in government funding, will also improve the services available to veterans.
Second, to provide clarity on the roles and responsibility for veterans affairs, the word “Veterans” will be removed to the Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families – now renamed Minister for Defence People and Families. This will further help veterans and stakeholder groups know that the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, which I head up, is responsible for coordinating veterans policy across government.
And thirdly, we will improve the Veterans Gateway, which over one million veterans have already used to access support. The OVA is leading a project to refresh the Gateway, and we are already working with veterans on trials to make this service better.
These changes – which we are making a start on now – will help veterans’ services become more effective, efficient and clear. I am focused on making the right changes which will benefit all veterans across the UK, step by step.
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
21 Nov 23. Veterans services stepped up as Veterans UK brand set to be phased out. Veterans services in the UK are to receive a fresh start as the government today accepted the majority of recommendations from the Independent Review of UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans.
- Veterans’ welfare services to be refreshed following Veterans’ Welfare Review, including improved Veterans’ Gateway.
- Government will confirm that it accepts most of the recommendations from the independent review.
- Veterans UK brand to be retired, with services and responsibilities across government clarified.
Veterans services in the UK are to receive a fresh start as the government today accepted the majority of recommendations from the Independent Review of UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans.
The Veterans UK brand will be retired next year, as part of a move to better communicate the variety of services which the MOD provides for veterans and the wider Armed Forces Community. The move will clarify the services on offer and the MOD will establish and communicate an appropriate replacement in due course.
It is a government priority to ensure that every veteran knows where to turn to access government support if they need it.
To help this, the Veterans’ Gateway will be improved, with user research already being undertaken, including involving veterans to help better target services.
To further clarify the roles and responsibilities across government and underlining the Office for Veterans’ Affairs central role in coordinating veterans’ support, the word ‘Veterans’ is being removed from the MOD Ministerial title ‘Minister for Defence People Veterans and Service Families’.
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs gave an update to the House of Commons today on progress of the Veterans’ Welfare Review, which marks a fresh start for veterans’ support services.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said:
We are making huge strides with veterans’ care in this country but it is important that veterans know where to turn when accessing some of the services on offer.
That’s why we commissioned this independent review and today we’re accepting many of the recommendations they have made.
These changes will help veterans services become more effective, efficient and clear – ultimately benefiting veterans across the UK.
As the Veterans UK brand is retired, the Ministry of Defence will consider a more appropriate way to present the service they provide to the Armed Forces and veteran communities, to ensure individuals clearly understand what the MOD do to support them and how to access those services when they need them.
Minister for Defence People and Families Andrew Murrison, said: “This jointly commissioned independent review builds on the hard work already being undertaken by a lot of people who genuinely care about providing high quality services for our Armed Forces Community. The recommendations in this review will help ensure we are taking that hard work in the right direction for our Armed Forces Community, who deserve the best services.”
The Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees, will be modernised to better support veterans welfare. Work is already under way following the Royal Assent of the MOD sponsored Private Members Bill in support of this work and in conjunction with the welfare review, government will work to clarify the role of VAPCs in a way that can better serve the Armed Forces Community.
The Welfare Services Review considered the role, scope and breadth of UK Government welfare provision for veterans, including those administered by the Ministry of Defence.
Support which was looked at included services such as the Veterans Welfare Service, the Defence Transition Service, which supports military personnel as they move into civilian life, is also part of the review. Other services which were part of the review included the Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans, the Northern Ireland Veterans Support Office, the Veterans’ Gateway, the Veterans Advisory Pensions Committees and the Ilford Park Polish Home.
The government has accepted the principles behind most of the recommendations made by the Independent Review of UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans.
The OVA has also recently launched a consultation to build its understanding of veterans, assess the effectiveness of current policies, including welfare services available, and shape future strategies.
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
20 Nov 23. ’Tis the Season to Honor Veterans By Sharing Their Stories and Keeping Their Memories Alive. In author Walt Larimore’s life, there is no greater hero than his father, World War II Second Lt. Philip Larimore. To honor his father’s military service and to keep his memory alive, Walt Larimore spent almost 16 years researching his father’s accomplishments before, during and just after World War II, and he shares his astonishing discoveries in the book, At First Light: A True World War II Story of a Hero, His Bravery, and an Amazing Horse.
“The purpose of this book is to resurrect and revive the forgotten memory of the Southern Front of Europe — Northern Africa, Sicily, Italy, Southern France. Everyone knows of D-Day up in Northern France, but they don’t know there were five D-Days in the southern areas,” Walt Larimore explained in a recent interview. “Everyone knows about the Battle of the Bulge, but they don’t know about the Colmar Pocket, which was arguably much worse.”
Walt Larimore’s father Philip Larimore was the youngest-ever graduate of the Army’s Officer Candidate School and one of the most decorated front-line junior officers in the war. He commanded a front-line platoon, shot snipers out of trees from 100 yards away, flew behind enemy lines into Czechoslovakia late in the war, completed a clandestine mission to save the Lipizzaner horses from Hitler’s clutches and became one of the youngest Company Commanders in the war. After VE-Day, he developed a friendship with President Truman and played bridge with General Eisenhower — among many other Forrest Gump-like exploits.
In At First Light, Walt Larimore and co-author Mike Yorkey recount Philip Larimore’s mischievous early years, his banishment to the Gulf Coast Military Academy during adolescence and his astonishing acts of bravery during World War II. Philip Larimore saw 413 days of front-line combat and received every valor award of the Army except the Medal of Honor, including three Purple Hearts, the final one for losing his right leg in a desperate battle in the last month of the war.
“He never talked about those medals; he never talked about those battles,” Walt Larimore said. “And a lot of the men were like that. They fought for freedom; they fought for liberty. But when they came home, they wanted to live life.”
At First Light recounts Philip Larimore’s heroic post-war battle with the U.S. War Department over its policy of not allowing amputee officers to continue in the Army. The final courtroom testimony, uncovered in the U.S. National Archives, reads like the chilling trial scene between the characters played by Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the movie, A Few Good Men.
At First Light concludes with Philip Larimore’s heart-warming relationship with a war horse that he saved — and saved him.
The details of Philip Larimore’s exceptional military career, including interactions with Winston Churchill, General George Patton and General Lucian Truscott, and his role in a top-secret mission that led to saving the world-famous Lipizzaners, all remained uncovered until the research and publication of At First Light. The book has been praised as being “a riveting story that rivals Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken,” and “a combination of Band of Brothers and War Horse.”
Since the book’s publication, At First Light has been awarded a Silver Medal by the Military Writers Society of America, was named a finalist by the International Page Turner Awards, was featured in the Louisiana Book Festival, and led to the 2023 induction of Philip Larimore into the 3rd Infantry Division’s Hall of Fame and his nomination for the Army’s Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame.
Gen. David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army (Ret.) four-star general, former Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and former Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan wrote: “This story is extraordinary: an almost forgotten hero, tough combat, tragic sacrifice, gripping aftermath, a marvelous horse, and an astonishing ending. Don’t miss reading this remarkable book.”
About the Author
Walt Larimore is an internationally recognized family physician, an award-winning medical journalist, and a bestselling author of 41 books and over 1,200 articles in professional and lay magazines and journals. He spent almost 16 years traveling to over a dozen archives and military installations in eight U.S. states, England, France and Italy, as well as interviewing many soldiers (and their families) to research, document and write this epic narrative about his father and the countless men and women who fought on “the forgotten front” in southern Europe in World War II.
For more information, visit https://www.drwalt.com (click on the “At First Light” tab), or follow him on Facebook (Walt.Larimore), Twitter (@WaltLarimore), Instagram (WaltLarimoreMD) and LinkedIn (walt-larimore-8415105).
At First Light: A True World War II Story of a Hero, His Bravery, and an Amazing Horse
Publisher: Knox Press
ISBN-10: 1642939595
ISBN-13: 978-1642939590
Available from Amazon.com and other online retailers
————————————————————————-
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to our Forces and their families since 1885. In 2020, our teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 79,000 people in need, the currently serving (both regulars and reserves), veterans from the Second World War and those who have served in more recent conflicts, as well as their families. SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us.
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/about-us
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/support-us
————————————————————————