Suggested points to help a new Intergroup Armed Services Liaison Officer

Getting started

Tell GSO that you are the new ASLO by email to aainformation@gsogb.org.uk

Talk to the previous ASLO about what work has been done before. They may be able to handover records of earlier work, contacts, and resources.

Get the ASLO email for your Intergroup. If this email does not exist, contact GSO and they will set one up for you.

If there has been no ASLO in post, talk to current or previous Region ASLOs or Intergroup/Region Chairs/Secretaries.

Read Chapter One: Public Information and Chapter Two: AA and the Armed Services in The AA Service Handbook for Great Britain. Also take time to familiarise yourself with both the AA Service and Structure Handbooks.

Get to know who else is in service in your Intergroup, in particular the other liaison officers.

Attend every Intergroup meeting. Draw up a plan for carrying the message to relevant organisations. Make regular reports on how you’re getting along. Experience shows this will make your service as ASLO productive and enjoyable.

Internal Communication
Attend the quarterly Armed Services Liaison meetings in your Region. The Regional ASLO normally chairs these, and they are attended by other Intergroup ASLOs. These meetings are good for coordinating activities and sharing experience, strength, and hope.

Attend Workshops at GSO in York, normally on a Saturday which are organised by the Board Trustee for Armed Services.

Ensure your local telephone office or service has your contact details for when an Armed Services Liaison enquiry come in.

Contact the subcommittee member (currently aservices4.sc@aamail.org) to ensure you are on the national AS 12th Stepper List. Encourage serving, veteran and interested civilian members to go on this list.

You can contact the Board Trustee for Armed Services, whose e-mail is in the confidential directory, to introduce yourself and find out about any developments nationally.

If you are stuck or confused – ask for help! Current or former ASLOs and RASLOs in your Regions, other liaison officers, the Chair of Region or the member of the Sub-Committee will be delighted to help. Whatever problem you are having, we have had and solved them.

External Communication

You will be working with relevant organisations within your Intergroup area. These broadly divide into three groups: the military, the veteran community, and the NHS/charity sector in both communities.

You can get in touch through –
• Always remember that Armed Services Liaison work like all liaison work within AA requires a team effort.
• British Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy sites.
• Welfare Branches, e.g. the Army Welfare Service, Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs), the Chaplaincy.
• Other Ministry of Defence sites.
• The Public Health Departments of Local Authorities, NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, and other NHS bodies responsible for veterans’ health, including NHS-organised Armed Forces Network events.
• Headquarters and branches of charities assisting serving persons and veterans. These can be found by searching online for service charities in an umbrella organisation the Armed Forces Covenant team at your local council along with other listings.