B*N*S*N3

New fund for public to provide modern gifts for overseas troops

A Defence Policy and Business news article

15 Oct 09

British troops in Afghanistan are to benefit from a new Operational Welfare Fund which will see a range of items including portable DVD players and games consoles being sent to them.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards inspecting an item obtained via the Operational Welfare Fund
[Picture: Cpl Ian Forsyth RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

The package of equipment is intended to provide troops serving on the front line with gadgets to improve the quality of their downtime.

It also intended to provide members of the public who want to show their support of British troops deployed overseas by sending Christmas parcels with an alternative method of doing so.

Sponsored by Littlewoods, Woolworths.co.uk and the Daily Mirror newspaper, the Operational Welfare Fund was launched this week by the Ministry of Defence and SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) Forces Help.

The first deliveries under the scheme will be shipped to Afghanistan in a matter of days.

One of the key aims behind the new fund is to give members of the public, who have consistently demonstrated their generosity towards Service personnel, a genuine alternative to sending their own parcels to operational theatres in the run-up to Christmas.

Although it is recognised and appreciated that people have the best of intentions when they send festive gifts out to troops, the MOD is stressing that donating to the Operational Welfare Fund represents a much more effective way of supporting troops.

"We are extremely grateful for the levels of support currently being demonstrated from all walks of society which provide a telling testimony to the respect and affection in which our Armed Forces are held."

Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel)

The fund means that for the first time men and women deployed on operations will be given the opportunity to decide what the money raised for them through the public's generous donations will be spent on. And any type of bid will be considered, whether it's for provision of a small luxury or assistance with a major project.

Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson, the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel), said:

"We are extremely grateful for the levels of support currently being demonstrated from all walks of society which provide a telling testimony to the respect and affection in which our Armed Forces are held.

"Such support means a great deal to Service personnel, particularly those on operations. The generosity and heartfelt support of communities at home is important in keeping up morale, often in very difficult conditions...(read more here)