Civilian welfare officers honoured by Defence Minister

Under Secretary of State for Defence Kevan Jones met with individuals from the St John and Red Cross Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) at the Ministry of Defence's Main Building in Whitehall, London, to personally present the medals yesterday, Tuesday 2 June 2009.

The Support Officers from the DMWS provide practical and emotional hospital in-patient and relative support for military personnel who have been injured in the line of duty, as well as liaising and communicating with Service units, stations and ships and with all other support agencies, both military and civilian.

Presenting the medals, Mr Jones said:

"The welfare role that these people do is vital in operations and I thought it was important that they get some public recognition. They normally get their medals in Jiffy bags which I don't think is right so therefore I organised this event today to say thank you to them and their families for the work they do supporting our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and also in bases throughout the UK and in Germany.

"I've seen their work first hand in Basra and when people are injured in conflicts the key thing is to try to support the families and get informaton back to the families which is exactly what these individuals do, but they also support and help with the practical things around a stay in hospital and that can't be under-estimated in terms of morale, not just for the individuals, but for the support to the families as well.

"They've been to some very dangerous places. I know when I was in Basra a few years ago it was not a calm place, there were incoming rockets every night and these individuals who are civilians are supporting our men and women and put themselves in danger and I'd like to say a big thank you for that."

Welfare Officer Amanda Marcroft, who received a medal from Mr Jones, deployed with 16 Close Support Medical Regiment in April 2008, returning in October 2008. During her tour Ms Marcroft implemented a photo-email procedure for families of injured Service personnel.

She recognised that, on occasions, a reassuring phone call from an injured soldier isn't enough to allay family fears for their loved ones. With their permission she made arrangements for suitable photographs to be taken and emailed these to family members with an accompanying narrative.

Ms Marcroft said:

"I help mums and dads speak to their sons who have been injured on the front line. I make sure that they are able to tell them themselves instead of a stranger knocking on their door in a dark suit and them wondering what on earth is going on; that first contact is particularly important.

"I facilitate that call and help the young men and women in how to make that call as saying 'hello mum I've been blown up' is probably not the best way to go about it.

"It can be pretty tough, but it's not happening to us, it's happening to the young men and women, so it's our job to support them and help them get through it as easily as possible. We then speak to mums and dads afterwards so they do know that their little boy or little girl is actually all right."

The other welfare officers to receive medals yesterday were: Lead Welfare Officer William (Bill) Haylett, Welfare Officer Anne Smith, Senior Welfare Officer Philip (Phil) Clarke and Senior Welfare Officer Stuart Sharp.