The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.
The Canadian Armed Forces are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Ministry of Defence is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members includes people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cadets and direct relatives.
His Majesty's Naval Service is the United Kingdom's naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and Naval Careers Service. The term Naval Service should be distinguished from the "UK Naval Services", which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord. This position is currently held by Admiral Sir Ben Key. The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence.
The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services.
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, the Soldiers', Sailors', and Airmen's Families Association, is a UK charity that provides lifelong support to serving men and women and veterans from the British Armed Forces and their families or dependents. Anyone who is currently serving or has ever served in the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force and their families, both regulars and reserves, is eligible for their help.
The Veterans Agency was an Executive Agency of the UK government's Ministry of Defence (MoD). It was amalgamated into the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) on 2 April 2007 under the brand Veterans-UK.
The Malaysian Service Medal is a medal given by the King and Government of Malaysia. Established 3 March 2004, the medal recognizes service by members of the Malaysian Armed Forces during the Malayan Emergency, Second Malayan Emergency, and the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. The medal was also offered for award to members of the Commonwealth forces from Australia, Fiji, India, Nepal, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom who served in Malaysia during the Malayan Emergency and the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. The award is in recognition of "distinguished chivalry, gallantry, sacrifice, or loyalty" in contributing to the freedom of independence of Malaysia. The medal can be conferred and accepted posthumously by next of kin.
The Iraq Medal was authorised on 23 February 2004. It was a campaign medal issued to members of the British Armed Forces and certain attached personnel, who served between 20 January 2003 and 22 May 2011 on, or in support of, Operation Telic - the designation for British operations during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and its aftermath.
The General Service Medal, is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom introduced in 1962 to replace both the General Service Medal (1918), as awarded to the Army and RAF, and the Naval General Service Medal (1915). The 1962 GSM was awarded until 2007, when it was replaced by the Operational Service Medal. In 2015 the General Service Medal (2008) was introduced.
Armed Forces Day in the United Kingdom is an annual event celebrated in late June to commemorate the service of men and women in the British Armed Forces. Veterans' Day was first observed in 2006. Although an official event, it is not a public holiday in the UK. The name was changed to Armed Forces Day in 2009. Armed Forces Day has so far been observed on the last Saturday of June.
The Military Covenant or Armed Forces Covenant is a term introduced in 2000 into British public life to refer to the mutual obligations between the United Kingdom and His Majesty's Armed Forces. According to The Guardian, "it is an informal understanding, rather than a legally enforceable deal, but it is nevertheless treated with great seriousness within the services". It was coined in Soldiering – The Military Covenant (booklet), UK: Ministry of Defence, April 2000, and has now entered political discourse as a way of measuring whether the government and society at large have kept to their obligations to support members of the armed forces.
The Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency (AFPAA) was a UK Ministry of Defence Tri-Service Defence Agency from April 1997 until it was merged into the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency on 2 April 2007.
The British Armed Forces recognises service and personal accomplishments of individuals while a member of the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force with the awarding of various awards and decorations.
The United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) is a directorate comprising the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, as well as the supporting No. 47 Squadron. In British freedom of information law, "special forces" has been defined as "those units of the armed forces of the Crown and the maintenance of whose capabilities is the responsibility of the Director of Special Forces or which are for the time being subject to the operational command of that Director". The Royal Marine Commandos and the Ranger Regiment are special operations–capable forces, however they do not form part of the UKSF.
The Arctic Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 19 December 2012 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served on the Arctic Convoys north of the Arctic Circle, during the Second World War.
Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare is a department in the Ministry of Defence, India. It was set up in 2004. The head of Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare since its inception has been a bureaucrat from the IAS. Veteran have for long demanded that DEWS be headed by a serving officers or a retired officer, like in other countries, including the United States, in which the Department of Veterans, is invariably headed by veteran with active duty military experience, with a cabinet rank. For instance the current head of the department is graduate of West Point, and has served in the army.
Brigadier Michael John Stone is a retired British Army officer, former Director of Information of the British Army and former chief information officer of the Ministry of Defence. He is currently the Global Head of Government Technology Transformation at KPMG. In 2015, Stone made the UKtech50, where he was ranked the 12th most influential person in the UK IT Sector.
Defence pensions are pensions paid from the Defence Services Estimates. Approximately 36 percent of amount budgeted for defence pensions is on account of defence civilians. The Defence pension bill for 2015–2016 was ₹ 54,500 crores, including pension outlay for about 400,000 defence civilians, and about Rs1000 Crores on account of allowances and establishment of Ministry of Finance personnel attached to MOD. On an average a defence civilian pensioners cost five times lesser than military pensioner. The per capita expenditure on defence civilians is approximately Rs. 5.38 Lakhs annually, in comparison with ₹ 1.38 Lakhs a year for defence pensioners paid from the defence services estimates. The per capita bill on account of defence civilian pensioners is higher mainly because they serve longer, reach the highest grades in the pay scales, are eligible for One Rank, One Pension (OROP) pensions, and are and host of allowance]. As of August 2021, SPARSH(Raksha) Pension Administration has been established under DBT(Direct Benefit Transfer) to reduce the Grievances of the Pensioners & to increase transparency Payment to Pensioners.
United Kingdom 