Meet the Expert: Helen Helliwell

Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our news series that brings you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers, and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspirations for progress and future work, and insights into expert perspectives on key issues impacting ex-Service personnel and their families.

In this issue, we interviewed Helen Helliwell, CEO of Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 and Chief Executive of Invictus UK 2027 Ltd, leading the team to deliver the Games in Birmingham in 2027.

1. Please tell us about your background and how you came to be involved in work relating to the Armed Forces Community.

I joined the Ministry of Defence in 2001, where I started work on introducing the Freedom of Information Act across the Department; it ended up being a fantastic entry into Defence because I got to visit all corners of it in the UK, from our front line commands to our trading funds such as the Met Office, Hydrographic Office and organisations such as the Oil and Pipelines Agency (who knew); then followed roles in inquiries, war crimes tribunals, finance, Op Herrick, a couple of roles outside of Defence on secondment, then back into Defence bringing in the Armed Forces Covenant, set up the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust Charity and over a decade working across Armed Forces Personnel policy issues (accommodation, health, well-being, welfare, pay, pension, compensation and allowances, families and Veterans strategies).

2. What projects are you currently working on, and how do they fit into the bigger picture of understanding and supporting the Armed Forces Community?

I am the CEO for the Invictus Games 2027, which is being held at the NEC Birmingham; this provides a fantastic platform to showcase the work of our Armed Forces and the sacrifices they and their families make on our behalf. Their stories of resilience and courage will inspire people from around the globe and will showcase the wider role of the Armed Forces community across government, industry, and the charity sector.

3. What other areas and issues relating to the Armed Forces Community are you especially passionate about or feel need further attention? Please expand on this and tell us about them, as much as you can.

I am particularly passionate about the WIS (wounded, injured, and/or sick) community and ensuring that the government provides lifelong support and that the wider community enables them to fulfil their potential in roles inside or outside of Defence.

Whilst working on Op HERRICK, I wrote the reports for the Ministry of Defence on the casualties and fatalities during 2005-2006; over 40 lives were lost during that time, including the NIMROD incident, where fourteen lives were lost in a single event. Many, many, more casualties were suffered, though. When you write those reports, the injuries that were sustained, and the context in which they occurred, you know that lives are going to be irrevocably changed; for the individuals and their friends and families. I was fortunate to see firsthand the amazing work of our medics in Helmand and back here in the UK; it is also remarkable to have seen the advances in medicine as a result of conflict, which have been incredible. Sharing this with other nations in need is a really important role that the UK do and continue to play.

I continue to think that families are often the unsung heroes too; their lives are also turned upside down when a loved one is injured; they have to come to terms with their own grief that whilst life may not have been lost, it is perhaps different to the future that had been envisioned. The Invictus Games provides a platform to focus on what can be achieved and to celebrate that, and not to focus on what you might not be able to do.

4. What are your future aspirations for the impact and utilisation of yours or your organisation's wider work?

• To create a legacy for more adaptive sport, arts, and employment, not just for our Armed Forces community but for all of society – here in the UK and around the globe. Whilst our charitable objectives focus our efforts on the Armed Forces Community, the power of Invictus to reach civilian communities shouldn’t be underestimated, so partnering with other organisations is key.
• To ensure that the Armed Forces community feels valued and recognised for the sacrifices it takes to defend our country and support our allies in doing so.
• To put on an Invictus Games budget that sets a sustainable model moving forward because I think the needs of the Invictus movement continue to grow given its global impact and global instability.

5. What do you think are the key challenges impacting current Veterans and their families, and how do you think policy or provision of services can be best used to address them?

I think many of the challenges facing Veterans are mirrored by wider society – the cost of living being an obvious one, loneliness and general well-being. But I think that Veterans are a massive asset to the nation, and there is an over-focus on their challenges and not on their resilience, strength, versatility, the Service they give and the success they have in their civilian lives.

Those leaving Service now are offered a plethora of support through our transition services so that they can access employment, housing and healthcare where they need support to do so, but there is a large pocket of Veterans who left over a decade ago, where such support wasn’t as mature, and who might be struggling with returning to civilian life – particularly if they joined at a young age and stayed in a long time. It’s not just a job they have left but a way of life and community, so it’s ensuring they are able to assess and know about the support available to them at whatever stage of their career or rank and at whatever time they may need it.

6. What do you think will be the leading challenges for the next generation of Veterans, and how do you think policy or provision of services can be best used to address them?

• I think your experience as a Veteran will flow from your experience as a Serving person; if the future is more zig-zag careers, then people may be coming in and out of the Services over their lifetime. This should help with transition.
• I also think giving Serving personnel more autonomy over their careers, where they live, who they live with, more autonomy over day to day living, would mirror more society (and other nations' Armed Forces) and reduce the feeling of having been institutionalised.
• Evidence suggests people don’t want one career for life but to have a number of careers / employers, so it’s ensuring that the training, development and experiences gained in the Armed Forces are translated into transferable skills and that industry understand this so that as a Veteran, appropriate employment opportunities are available. Policy and provision of services need to be flexible enough to be bespoke for the individual – a Veteran is anyone who has Served for one day – so you have to cater for that, and those who have Served for 30+ years.
• The Reserves Service will continue to play an ever more important role in the Defence of our nation, and they play a pivotal role in core defence positions at home and on operations abroad; I’m not sure we’ve got the package of support for those reservists that become injured right (based on the experiences of some Invictus participants), including the support to their families.
• There are likely to be campaigns in the future that are not fully supported by the general public; it’s important to recognise that the Armed Forces must go where the Government send them – they don’t get to leave if they don’t like their posting! So, regardless of the campaign, it’s important that our Armed Forces continue to enjoy public support.

7. Can you tell us about your favourite part of your current work with the Armed Forces Community and why?

Speaking to Invictus participants and those involved in that community. Their coaches, supporters, family members, medics. That’s what gives the energy and drive. I’m also really enjoying the new challenge of being the CEO of a charity and CEO of IG27, delivering a massive sporting event but, more than that, a platform to inspire. So, the engagement with Birmingham, commercial partners, the event industry, and just setting up a new organisation has been really refreshing.

8. Given unlimited funding and time, what would be your dream project to undertake involving the Armed Forces community?

Whilst I don’t have unlimited funding or time, my dream project is to deliver the Invictus Games in Birmingham, 2027, along with its associated legacies and impact projects.

Many thanks to Helen Helliwell for sharing her insights.

Catch us next month for another interesting and informative interview with an expert from the Armed Forces Community.