Armed Forces and veteran housing policies: The United Kingdom 2021 vision

Accessing suitable accommodation post transition into civilian life from the military is one of the key markers for future success and wellbeing. For many this process can and does start during their military career. Some veterans however struggle to find appropriate housing often complicated by other difficulties associated with employment, physical and mental injuries or difficulties with relationships. Over the past two years the position of veterans, veterans’ families and Service people in transition in the United Kingdom (UK) has gained increased national and international visibility through the establishment of the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. ‘The Strategy For Our Veterans’ (Ministry of Defence, 2018a) contains a key theme: ‘Veterans have a secure place to live either through buying, renting or social housing’. However, the National Audit Office (NAO) recently reported that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not meeting its commitment to provide high-quality subsidised accommodation to all Service personnel. Satisfaction particularly with Single Living Accommodation has declined in recent years and can impact on the retention of military personnel, risking the MOD’s ability to deliver defence capabilities (NAO 2021). This review looks at the changes made to policy in the UK in the past two years to support quality UK Service accommodation, aid and sustain successful transition and ensure veterans do not want for adequate housing

Caring and Coping: The Family Perspective on Living with Limb Loss

This report presents findings of research into how veterans with limb loss, and their families, live with limb loss. Using Grounded Theory, data has been collected from 72 veterans and family members using unstructured interviews, structured questionnaires and closed question telephone interviews. Findings indicate, firstly, that the central concern of veterans with limb loss, and families, is coping during living with limb loss, and that the veteran with limb loss and their carer/s may experience differing levels of coping (low, mid, high) during any specific time period. Each coping level is characterised by behaviours/characteristics to which appropriate support can be aligned; secondly, there are distinct time periods where certain types of Blesma/organisational support are more likely to effectively support coping ability. This report presents these findings, which are developed into a practical Living with Limb Loss Support Model (LLSM). The LLSM identifies specific periods where timely support is more likely to be relevant and effective in supporting individual needs and coping levels, as further explained in the ‘Practical Application of Findings’ (see pages 14-20). Conclusions suggest recommendations for support and practices Blesma and other support organisations could develop, suggestions for future research, and development of an evidence base, that will underpin policy making and service delivery, to enable sustained and positive change for veterans and their families. Furthermore, although this research was carried out with veterans and their family members, the recommendations are intended to be transferable to other persons with limb loss (PWLL) and their families. This is a collaborative study between Blesma and The Veterans & Families Institute for Military Social Research (VFI), at Anglia Ruskin University, and is funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT)

Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic extensional and compressional history of East Laurentian margin sequences: The Moine Supergroup, Scottish Caledonides

Neoproterozoic siliciclastic-dominated sequences are widespread along the eastern margin of Laurentia and are related to rifting associated with the breakout of Laurentia from the supercontinent Rodinia. Detrital zircons from the Moine Supergroup, NW Scotland, yield Archean to early Neoproterozoic U-Pb ages, consistent with derivation from the Grenville-Sveconorwegian orogen and environs and accumulation post–1000 Ma. U-Pb zircon ages for felsic and associated mafic intrusions confirm a widespread pulse of extension-related magmatism at around 870 Ma. Pegmatites yielding U-Pb zircon ages between 830 Ma and 745 Ma constrain a series of deformation and metamorphic pulses related to Knoydartian orogenesis of the host Moinerocks. Additional U-Pb zircon and monazite data, and 40Ar/39Ar ages for pegmatites and host gneisses indicate high-grade metamorphic events at ca. 458–446 Ma and ca. 426 Maduring the Caledonian orogenic cycle.The presence of early Neoproterozoic silici clastic sedimentation and deformation in the Moine and equivalent successions around the North Atlantic and their absence along strike in eastern North America reflect contrasting Laurentian paleogeography during the breakup of Rodinia. The North Atlantic realm occupied an external location on the margin of Laurentia, and this region acted as a locus for accumulation of detritus (Moine Supergroup and equivalents) derived from the Grenville-Sveconorwegian orogenic welt, which developed as a consequence of collisional assembly of Rodinia. Neoproterozoic orogenic activity corresponds with theinferred development of convergent platemargin activity along the periphery of the supercontinent. In contrast in eastern North America, which lay within the internal parts of Rodinia, sedimentation did not commence until the mid-Neoproterozoic (ca. 760 Ma) during initial stages of supercontinent fragmentation. In the North Atlantic region, this time frame corresponds to a second pulse of extension represented by units such as the Dalradian Supergroup, which unconformably overlies the predeformed Moine succession

Veterans, Transition and Bodily Identity

"Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal" was founded in 2017 by Arden Hegele, a literary scholar, and Rishi Goyal, a physician. Its mission is to develop conversations among diverse people thinking about medical and humanistic ways of knowing ... as a “Department Without Walls” that connects scholars and thinkers from different spheres

Medical Interventions, Suddenness and Finding A New Normal

"Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal" was founded in 2017 by Arden Hegele, a literary scholar, and Rishi Goyal, a physician. Its mission is to develop conversations among diverse people thinking about medical and humanistic ways of knowing ... as a “Department Without Walls” that connects scholars and thinkers from different spheres

Exploring the Human Side of Military Medicine Through Anthropomorphised Objects. Part One.

"Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal" was founded in 2017 by Arden Hegele, a literary scholar, and Rishi Goyal, a physician. Its mission is to develop conversations among diverse people thinking about medical and humanistic ways of knowing ... as a “Department Without Walls” that connects scholars and thinkers from different spheres

Tears and rain. Finding a bird and a depressed place.

"Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal" was founded in 2017 by Arden Hegele, a literary scholar, and Rishi Goyal, a physician. Its mission is to develop conversations among diverse people thinking about medical and humanistic ways of knowing ... as a “Department Without Walls” that connects scholars and thinkers from different spheres