Major Laura Cox has worked in the Educational and Training Branch (ETS) in the Army for over ten years, where she has supported members of the Forces across the UK and on operations in areas of personal and professional development. For the past two years, she has led as the Transition Officer for Army HQ Scotland, where she helps soldiers to prepare for life after Service.

For some members of society who already encounter challenges in their day-to-day lives, the effects of the pandemic have been especially daunting. Fortunately there are a number of organisations out there doing amazing work to support them, adapting quickly to continue delivering vital services.

COVID-19 has made us even more grateful for those who work on our behalf than ever before. We’ve clapped outside our homes, banged pans together and had pipers playing up and down the street to say thank you to key workers.  It has also made us value the freedoms we may have taken for granted that those in the Armed Forces fought, and continue to fight, so hard to preserve. 

With the Covid crisis throwing us all into challenging times, one of the silver linings of the situation is the way in which we’ve seen individuals, communities and organisations rally together to support each other and help get everyone through. For the charities offering practical and emotional support to our veterans, continuing to deliver vital regular services under lockdown restrictions has been key, whilst also responding to new requirements brought about by the pandemic.

It has been a few weeks since my last blog and while much has happened across the world and here in the UK, in some ways things still seem remarkably the same.  The lockdown is being eased but is not over yet.  Numbers of new cases and deaths from Covid-19 have declined but the virus is still with us, and all of us and our families are still being hugely affected by this pandemic.