Hampshire veteran calls for structured guidance for those leaving service
The call comes ahead of Armed Forces day in Aldershot this weekend
Ahead of Armed Forces Day this weekend, a local veteran is calling for more structured support for people leaving the service.
Paul Colling from Hampshire was a corporal in the Royal Signals but was medically discharged after serving for 16 years.
He says the jump from army life to civilian life is very challenging, especially when it comes to care.
"When I was in the forces I got the care I needed, but then the day I left that was it it stopped there was no guidance on going from the military type of health care to how the civilian health care works, there was none of that.
It'd be nice to have a process in place where people understand everything they need to know. And that's everything from housing to bills to even the dentist, you've got to know to get yourself on a dentist list."
He told us in some sense the care you received felt completely random.
"I was very fortunate when I got medically discharged not to hit any cracks. But then the other side of that is so many of my friends who fell through the cracks.
My time in the services got extended so I could have more surgery. It was all going well. I went under a PRU, which is a personal recovery unit, which is tailored for people leaving the army.
It's great when people do get the support they need, but there's so many people who don't get the support they need.
I had a friend who I knew, without mentioning names, we were at the end of our careers, same places, and he ended up sitting in his room all day, every day, just doing nothing until the day he got to leave and then he got marched out with no support which is completely opposite to the help and support I got"
Help for Heroes has unveiled a new four-point plan, saying the UK cannot ask more of its Armed Forces without first doing more for those who need help when they leave service.
Among the reforms proposed in the plan are an independent review of the military medical discharge process; long-term funding for veteran rehabilitation and hearing loss support; fairer treatment of Armed forces compensation within the benefits system; and an end to repeated benefit reassessments for amputees.
It also calls for the needs of underserved veteran groups – including women veterans, LGBT+ veterans and Afghan personnel who served alongside UK Forces – to be addressed, and to ensure stronger accountability across Government to ensure the Armed Forces Covenant is delivered consistently.
For part of the Armed Forces Week event this weekend in Aldershot (27 June - 28 June) members of the public can show their support for the plan by signing a puzzle piece on the Charity’s ‘Peace by Piece’ exhibition stand, which will be on display at Queens Avenue.
Paul told us Armed Forces Day is a powerful tool to call for more support
"To be able to focus people, to get everybody else to focus on something outside of their world is quite difficult.
But something like Armed Forces Day where people stop for a moment and breathe and then just think about the Armed Forces for that weekend, it gives it a bit of momentum."