Chairman’s note
It would be odd and quite wrong not to remark on the very significant and momentous event of last month – the death of our longest-reigning Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. It is with great sadness, that on behalf of all volunteer members and staff of the Greater London RFCA, I offer our deepest condolences to the Royal Family and thank Her Majesty The Queen for the life of dedicated service that she gave to the Nation and for the example she set for us all. Her personal support to all elements of the military, and the wider Armed Forces community, will never be forgotten. The almost universal reaction to Her Majesty’s death provides clear evidence, I think, of the unifying force of the Monarchy – uniting people and strengthening the Union.
It has certainly been a rollercoaster last two years, although I hesitate to say we are now in more stable times as world and national events continue to surprise us and as we pick our way through a number of active reviews: the NDPB process; the Integrated Review; the Reserve Forces 30 work; the RFCA Estate Optimisation Programme, and the Future Defence Infrastructure Value for Money study. All these important pieces of work add to the load on the executive staff as they go about their routine business and the outcomes of them will impact on the Reserves and Cadets in London.
Thank you…
Despite another turbulent year, I thank all the RFCA staff for their commitment and effort to continue to deliver on our three core outputs: maintaining a safe and legal estate; providing support to the cadet organisations and its volunteers, and our engagement activity to stay more connected with employers in the region and the London community in order to connect Defence more closely with the society it serves. Our Engagement Team continue to do an incredible job getting more organisations signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant, encouraging them to climb the ladder of support for Defence People objectives via the Employer Recognition Scheme Silver and Gold awards.