Talking to the Army

10.03.00am GMT Wed 3rd Feb 2010

Relationships between the military and the rest of the population in Wiltshire should be improved by an initiative to channel all questions and problems from civilian organisations and individuals through the council.

Military personnel constitute around 3% of the total population of Wiltshire, and the total number of military personnel and their dependants is in the order of 30,000.

With such a presence within the county, individuals, community groups and civilian organisations are obviously interested in many aspects of military activity.

The Military Civilian Integration (MCI) Programme was set up in 2007 to ensure there was good understanding between the Army, MoD and Wiltshire partners. The MCI Sponsoring Group, led by Wiltshire Council and Headquarters 43 (Wessex) Brigade brings together Defence Estates, the Government Regional Agencies and representatives from the private sector (Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce) and voluntary sector (Community First).

The MCI Sponsoring Group has decided that Wiltshire Council should act as a single point of contact for all civilian enquiries. The role will involve receiving enquiries from individuals, community groups and civilian organisations in Wiltshire and liaising on their behalf with the relevant Defence organisation to get the required information.

The Council will collate and send out responses. If you have any such queries please contact Alistair Cunningham, Service Director, Economy & Enterprise.

Correspondence should be headed 'Military Civilian Communication'.

Alistair's phone number is 01225 713203, and e-mail is alistair.cunningham@wiltshire.gov.uk