Be prepared for the serving member of your family to start talking about taking part in activities that are likely to be challenging and will stretch your loved one physically and mentally.  You may also see 'greens' in the washing machine more often than before.  The serving person in your family needs to be healthy and physically fit to undertake their role, particularly if they are deployed out-of-area where conditions can be gruelling.  If a serviceman or woman is unfit, they are likely to let down the team in which they work and the impact, particularly in operational theatres, could be substantial.  So, by eating healthy food and doing exercise as part of family-life, this will not only make life easier and more enjoyable in the RAF, but will also enable the service person to make an even more valuable contribution.  Of course, all the family can benefit from a healthy lifestyle too!  Force Development activities will then build on the overall fitness and wellbeing and provide opportunities for serving personnel to take part and learn more about themselves and their colleagues.  This knowledge can then be used to maximise team potential in any given situation.

Force Development plays an important part in the development of our personnel and exposes them to a wide range of activities and situations where they may broaden their leaderships skills, teamwork and foster a better understanding of Service initiatives, such as equality and diversity.  It is intended to raise awareness of our roles in a military environment and our responsibilities within the Service and on deployed operations.  The lessons we learn about our colleagues and ourselves may change the way we interact with our immediate family, our outlook and priorities. 

Abridged from RAF Boulmer Comminity Pulse Winter 2006

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