Following a wide consultation the report makes 40 recommendations to enhance public awareness and appreciation of the Armed Forces. The MOD will respond in detail to all of these recommendations later in the year, but has already implemented some, and work is underway on others. The recommendations being worked on now include:
• Greater encouragement for the military to wear uniforms in public where circumstances and Service rules allow;
• Creating a British Armed Forces and Veterans Day;
• Introducing extra Local Authority engagement for Homecoming Parades; and
• Strengthening cadet organisations by:
- Expanding combined cadet forces in Comprehensive Schools; and
- Introducing a Cadet Ambassador in London to encourage schools to get their pupils involved in cadet forces.
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The MOD will now engage with other Government departments and external organisations to take forward these recommendations.
Bob Ainsworth, Armed Forces Minister, said:
"Our Service Personnel continue to demonstrate the tremendous bravery and courage that makes them the best in the world. This report provides firm foundations to ensure that the work of our Armed Forces is better understood and recognised by the nation they serve.
"To complement Quentin Davies' detailed study, we will soon publish the cross-Government Service Personnel Command Paper. This will set out the Government's vision for further improving the lives of our troops, their families and veterans."
General Timothy Granville-Chapman, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, said:
"Mr Davies' Report highlights the huge debt the nation owes to its sailors, soldiers and airmen. There is increasing public acknowledgement of this, and support for the Armed Forces in terms of homecoming parades and charitable giving has been received very well by those in uniform. And every week people see just what being on operations means – they see people, many of them young, giving real meaning to the idea of service and sacrifice, enduring hardship and often displaying remarkable bravery.
"The Report complements the work going on in the Services, is comprehensive and makes firm recommendations which my fellow Chiefs of Staff will find very useful in harnessing appropriate public recognition and understanding of what we do."
The National Recognition of the Armed Forces Study was conducted at the invitation of the Prime Minister by Quentin Davies MP. The study team consulted with members of the Royal Family, Parliament, devolved assemblies, civic leaders, serving and retired military personnel, Service charities, religious leaders, businesses and the media.