Armed Forces Day will be on Saturday, 27 June 2014. Armed Forces Day is an opportunity to to raise public awareness of the contribution made to our country by those who serve and have served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. Secondly, it gives the nation an opportunity to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families and from veterans to cadets.

Since 2009, Armed Forces Day has been marked annually with events large and small throughout the UK, and this year the celebrations will fall on Saturday 28 June, when a major national event will be held in the City of Stirling, Scotland.

Local Armed Forces Day events include:

• Chatham Armed Forces Day Event
• Sheerness Help for Hero’s Event
• Dover Armed Forces Day Event

To find out more about Armed Forces day go to their website here: www.armedforcesday.org.uk

To look for more events go to the Armed Forces Events Search by following the link.

The Kent & Medway Civilian Military Partnership Board have launched the Kent Armed Forces Survey looking at the strengthens and needs of the Armed Forces and ex-services community. This research will help shape the delivery of outcomes for the Armed Forces community of Kent & Medway, and the results from this survey will form a suggested list of priorities to help decision making for the future in Kent & Medway. They are interested in hearing from any serving personnel, reservists, ex-service personnel and their families and wish to find out about their experiences living and working in Kent and Medway. We need better information about the experiences and issues faced and will be asking them about their time in the military and/or after in civilian life.

The survey should take less than 20 minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous. Please click here for the Armed Forces Survey.

The research is independently being carried out by KCC on behalf of the KCMP board and the survey questionnaire will close on 31 July 2015.

If you are service or ex service personnel or their family or friends and are concerned about mental wellbeing there are specific organisations operating in Kent and Medway that can help you. Some of these we have listed below.

• Armed Forces Network
• The Big White Wall
• Combat Stress
• Royal British Legion
• The Ripple Pond - support for families and carers of service and ex service personnel

If you need to speak to someone for free using NHS funded therapy go to our information and refer yourself into speak to someone local to you.