Armed
Forces Week, culminating in Armed Forces Day on 27 June, is a chance to show your support for
those who make up the Armed Forces community – from currently serving troops to
service families, veterans and cadets.
Showing support for the
Armed Forces provides a much valued morale boost for the troops and their
families. They are busy working around the world, promoting peace, delivering
aid, tackling drug smugglers, providing security and fighting terrorism. They
are also currently involved in supporting the fight against Covid-19.
You can find out more
about what the Armed Forces are doing at home and around the world by visiting
the official sites of the Royal Navy,
British Army and Royal Air Force.
As a University, we’re committed to supporting the Armed
Forces community through our commitment to fulfilling the pledges we made
signing the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant in 2016. We’re the only Scottish University to be awarded the Defence
Employers Recognition Gold Award for our support to date.
Over the
last three years, the University has supported Armed Forces Day by taking a stall
at the West Lothian and Edinburgh Armed Forces Day celebrations. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus outbreak, this
year’s local and national Armed Forces Day celebrations have been
cancelled. However, we continue to highlight our support in a number of ways, including
the launch earlier this month of our internal Armed
Forces Network for staff and students. The Armed Forces Network is a group of
staff and students who have an interest in supporting the Armed Forces
community and members do not need to have a forces background.
The University has a strong reputation in military focused research. The Forces
in Mind Trust has awarded the University a grant of more than £300,000 to
conduct a pilot study of a new treatment especially developed for Complex
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) in ex-Service personnel, led by the
School of Health & Social Care’s Thanos Karatzias. This follows a previous
University research study which found that CPTSD is a more prevalent condition
within help-seeking veterans than Post-traumatic stress disorder.
For more
information about the University’s work with the Armed Forces community, click here or email armedforces@napier.ac.uk.