What is the Armed Forces Covenant?

The Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.

It is a pledge that, together, we acknowledge and understand that those who serve and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, the economy and the society they serve with their lives.

The covenant focusses on helping members of the armed forces community to have the same access to government and commercial services and products as any other citizen and, in certain circumstances, priority or discount access to commercial products and services, in order to recognise the commitment that members of the Armed Forces have made to our country.

More information regarding the Armed Forces Covenant can be found at https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk/ 

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How is 3CDSE 2020 involved with the Armed Forces Covenant?

As the region’s largest defence and security event, the Three Counties Defence and Security Expo (3CDSE,) recognises the importance of supporting our forces.

With all exhibitors operating in the Defence and Security sector and perhaps, most important, with the majority of the businesses exhibiting at 3CDSE having been established by former Armed Forces Personnel or employing members of the Armed Forces Community, 3CDSE is keen to promote the signing of the covenant.

At 3CDSE 2019, 3CDS (Trading) Limited, the Company responsible for 3CDSE, signed the Armed Forces Covenant as part of the Expo.  We were joined by the Three Counties Defence and Security Group (3CDSG) (formally HSDG), Herefordshire’s dedicated Security and Defence Group as well as suppliers to 3CDSG.

In addition to the above, having signed the covenant for the first time in November 2014, Harrison Clark Rickerbys, the law firm that initiated 3CDSE, renewed its commitment to the Armed Forces Community by re-signing the covenant and extending the pledges it made 5 years ago in order to ensure that the support if offers to the Armed Forces Community is strengthened even further.

 

How you can get involved! The Armed Forces Covenant – Public signing Opportunity 3CDSE 2020

The MoD guideline is to increase the number of business signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) by 10% each year. In addition to signing the Armed Forces Covenant itself, 3CDSE aims to support this by encouraging other exhibitors at 3CDSE to show their support and join us by signing the AFC on 15 July 2020.

If you would like to join us by signing the Armed Forces Covenant with us at the Expo on 15 July 2019, as part of which you will benefit from the attendant publicity, please contact Ellis Walby  at ewalby@HCRlaw.com by 1 July 2020 to obtain a template pledge document, complete and return this to her by 5th July 2020, so that the pledges can be registered with the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (RFCA) and the Employer Engagement Team in advance of the Expo. When sending your pledge to Ellis, please also include full details of who at the Company you wish to nominate as Armed Forces Champion, together with their contact details and details of the person who will be attending the Expo in order to sign the Covenant.

In order to assist, we have included a draft pledge for you to complete. We would encourage you to ensure that your pledge is bespoke to your organisation to ensure that the support you offer to the Armed Forces Community is as strong as possible.

Alternatively, if you do not wish to join the public signing day but still wish to sign the covenant, you can submit your pledge directly to the RFCA Team using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-covenant-pledge

If you have any questions regarding the Covenant, the pledge you might make or the public signing day please do not hesitate to contact Ellis by email, as shown above.