Page 113 - Bugle Autumn 2014

HRH Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex meets civilian employers at 6 RIFLES Officers Mess.
Operational Support
The Operational Support Office has many other responsibilities as well as being the focus for unit welfare. Manned by Capt Chris Gillespie on a Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) contract and Sergeant Valerie Bartlett AGC(SPS), a reserve soldier employed three days a week on an Additional Duties
families to be aired on Forces Radio in Afghanistan. In May after the soldiers returned from their successful tour of duty, a homecoming function was held in Wyvern Barracks, Exeter for the soldiers, their families and friends. A beautiful sunny day allowed the party to be held in the garden of
introduced to facilitate this additional approach to recruiting reserve soldiers. It
is also very important that our soldiers can communicate the benefits of reserve service to their civilian employers and co-workers. In June some of our soldiers together with their civilian employers had the opportunity to meet His Royal Highness Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex at a lunch in the Officers’ Mess of 6 RIFLES.
We have seen five of our soldiers medically discharged this year resulting from injuries or conditions associated with operational deployments in Afghanistan. No doubt for many years ahead, there will be soldiers who will require assistance with situations and conditions associated with the past 10 years of operational deployments.
To keep up to date with our Battalion, visit the official 6 RIFLES Facebook site, the site has over six thousand followers with individual posts at times reaching an audience of over one hundred thousand individuals!
Contract (ADC). Tasks also include civilian employer engagement, management of wounded, injured
The Operational Support Office has many other responsibilities as well as being the focus for unit welfare
the Officers’ Mess, with lots of entertainment, great food and good company, everyone had a superb day. It also provided the opportunity to formally present the soldiers with their Operational Medals, a very proud
and sick soldiers,
unit health/health
governance and
managing the
successful unit Facebook site.
moment for them and their families.
It has always been important to Reserve
Battalions that civilian employers of our soldiers are supportive to their employees who serve in the Reserve Forces. Employer engagement has now expanded from supporting our civilian employers to include recruitment from the civilian workplace. Many new initiatives and policies are being
During the past 12 months eight soldiers from 6 RIFLES deployed on Op HERRICK 19 from September 2013 to March
2014. With OP HERRICK deployments ending soon, the soldiers took part in the gradual closedown process as well as routine patrols and guardforce duties and respective Commanding Officers of the regular battalions spoke highly of them. Once again we can be truly proud of the contribution our reserve soldiers have made to Operations in Afghanistan. Two of our soldiers have deployed on individual mobilisations on OP HERRICK 20, they will remain deployed for up to 9 months.
The OP HERRICK 19 deployment
kept the Operational Support Office busy conducting pre-deployment welfare briefs for soldiers and their families and after the soldiers deployed keeping the families informed and providing functions for them to attend. This included an excellent Christmas function, where once again 6 RIFLES were supported by BFBS who recorded Christmas messages from the
6 RIFLES Soldiers receive their Operational Medals.
THE RIFLES
SIXTH BATTALION 111