One of our lads has been getting advise and support from this organisation and some of their actions have me concerned. He is experiencing issues which may or may not be related to his experiences during 9 years of recent service in the regular army. He is now in the TA. I wont go into details as this isnt why i am posting this and i am no psychiatrist.

The Salute charity doesnt appear to be registered, they are offering counselling for PTSD and actively fundraise for their various projects in the Burnley area. Can they do this when they are not registered as a charity?

What has raised my concern is they have approached our battalion demanding the lad be discharged as the threat of being sent back on operational tours could send him over the edge. They have done this without the permission and knowledge of the lad concerned. He is adamant he does not want to leave the TA and doesnt understand why they would approach the battalion when he hasnt asked them to. He states himself that there is no "threat" of being made to go on tour as he is a TA soldier and we have to volunteer for it.

Approaching our battalion without the permission of the individual concerned and demanding he be discharged when he hasnt said any such thing doesnt strike me as the act of a professional agency. They have caused major problems for him and as a result questions are now being asked about his continuing training. If he isnt allowed to train i feel this could have a detrimental effect on him.

One of the members of Salute appears to have diagnosed him as experiencing PTSD but from what he has told me he hasnt seen any of their counsellors and certainly isnt receiving treatment through them.

They have a shiny new website but something about it doesnt seem to ring true to me. the site is at http://saluteyou.org/ ?

Am i right to be suspicious of this group? I dont want this lad to be put under any further mental stress through the actions of well meaning amateurs but i hope i am wrong. i hope they are above board and are operating with the best intentions.

I have spoken at length with the lad concerned and he has agreed to see a counsellor i will find for him through Combat Stress.

All sounds a bit walty and not kosher at all. How fucking dare they approach the lad's unit!

Steer well clear having asked them to answer for their actions!

Got to AWS, if he feels he has issues, get your UWO to refer him, they should come and interview him and the system will take care of the rest, if he is to be diagnosed for PTSD, then I'm assuming a trip to donnington will be in order (with the referral from the MO), PTSD doesn't mean he will be discharged, most cases can be sorted through CofC, AWS and the MO.

As for 'salute', I would steer clear, use what's on offer from within the service.......at least that way it's an all informed net, best for your unit and the individual.

Originally Posted by harrythreaders

Got to AWS, if he feels he has issues, get your UWO to refer him, they should come and interview him and the system will take care of the rest, if he is to be diagnosed for PTSD, then I'm assuming a trip to donnington will be in order (with the referral from the MO), PTSD doesn't mean he will be discharged, most cases can be sorted through CofC, AWS and the MO.

As for 'salute', I would steer clear, use what's on offer from within the service.......at least that way it's an all informed net, best for your unit and the individual.

thanks Harryt we're now following this route.

I find it really annoying that these groups can set themselves up without any kind of checks on them. the mere fact they are not a registered charity speaks volumes.

Originally Posted by fusilier50

thanks Harryt we're now following this route.

I find it really annoying that these groups can set themselves up without any kind of checks on them. the mere fact they are not a registered charity speaks volumes.

In the process of applying says their website. I smell money-manking out of other people's injuries!

A few things to note (not knowing the full story), that may help:

If you feel it is necessary, consider putting the Soldier on an SVRM (usually done through the Adjt)

After the initial UWO/AWS meeting have a CAP drawn up to aide the unit in managing his work load

Be sure to discuss the Soldier on your units monthly UHB

If he is a junior Soldier consider giving him a mentor

This tied in with regular AWS interviews and any MO intervention should be enough to get him back on track to normal soldiering

If their grammar is anything to go by i'd give them a miss....and the online ptsd test ...well I'll leave that to your own judgement

Originally Posted by fusilier50

The Salute charity doesnt appear to be registered, they are offering counselling for PTSD and actively fundraise for their various projects in the Burnley area. Can they do this when they are not registered as a charity?

Yes. If they turn over less than £5k a year they do not need to be registered with the CC. According to their (fairly slick) website, they have applied for charitable status. I am sure that in time, they will make public the amount of money raised and where that money has gone. The last target for blipping the ARRSE radar, Army of Angels, has not done so yet but I live in hope.

When they registered their website their Admin email was given as registrations@uk-cheapest.co.uk. Hmmm.

I am slightly concerned that they approached your battalion 'demanding' something. In my dealings with Brit Mil demands were met with "Fuck off you gopping sheeps cunt" (Toms) or "We will come back to you on that" (Ruperts) or "So have you a ball-park figure for the cost over-run?" (MoD)

Registrant Contact Information:
Name: Gary Adamson
Organization: Rocoru Creative
Address 1: 23 Kings Drive
City: Burnley
State: Lancashire
Zip: BB127DF
Country: GB
Phone: +44.8704740237
Email: @rocoru.com

Originally Posted by JoeCivvie

Registrant Contact Information:
Name: Gary Adamson
Organization: Rocoru Creative
Address 1: 23 Kings Drive
City: Burnley
State: Lancashire
Zip: BB127DF
Country: GB
Phone: +44.8704740237
Email: @rocoru.com

I believe that's the webmaster.

Kieth Shepherd is one of the owners. (Stated as being ex RCT regular, and RE TA)