Why does Community & Welfare support exist?

Over the last 10 years the Royal Air Force has changed in the way it operates. It is now considered to be an "Expeditionary Force" deployable at short notice anywhere in the world. These deployments have had an effect on the lives of family members, with an increasing number of families being split during the spouse's periods of deployment.

The Air Force Board has accepted that a 'Critical Connection' exists between the families of Service personnel and retention, readiness and the operational effectiveness of the Service. Current policies underpin the Critical Connection that formally recognises that, for Service personnel to be effective, the RAF must provide the necessary community support structure for their families. Research has shown that if service personnel take their problems with them on deployment, they are preoccupied, make errors and are generally less effective. Therefore the development of a strong sense of community and feeling of well being amongst all service personnel and their families will translate into better levels of readiness, effectiveness and retention.

The links on this page provide some information and guidance regarding the Welfare & Community support that is available at RAF Waddington.