New Female Veterans Toolkit is what I desperately needed when I left the military

As a female veteran, it’s rare to be in a room full of people and genuinely feel understood.

But when I had the privilege of attending the launch of the Female Veterans Transformation Programme (FVTP) Toolkit, I was surrounded by women who have gone through what I have.

Like many women who served, I’ve often found myself navigating systems that didn’t quite reflect what I’d been through. Our journeys – the transitions, the identity shifts, the quiet resilience – aren’t necessarily addressed in the traditional veteran support services, where men are the majority.

And as I stood in Royal Hospital Chelsea, I was struck by a sense of hope that things are going to change for women leaving the forces.

This toolkit is a practical resource for organisations and services to better support the needs of female veterans in the UK.

This toolkit wasn’t created in isolation or written from a distance. It has been shaped by women like me, by our stories, by our challenges, and by our shared determination to make things better for the next generation of female veterans.

What made it even more powerful was the event was attended by the Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones, herself a female veteran. There was something profoundly grounding about standing in a room where lived experience wasn’t the exception, it was the norm.

As I looked around the beautifully historic room, I felt seen.

The toolkit captures what so many of us have been saying for years:

• That our needs are not identical to those of our male counterparts
• That support systems should reflect our lived realities
• That inclusion is not a box-ticking exercise – it’s cultural, emotional, and practical
• And that when women are heard, solutions become stronger

For me, this toolkit is more than a set of resources. It’s a recognition of our service, our contributions, and our whole selves.

Watching the video, 7 clicks, was emotional. The words spoken are real experiences, told by real veterans, and raise countless points about what it is like for women in the Armed Forces. How we are often doubted, how the public can be confused by us, how strange and awkward it can be to transition back to civilian life.

One of the things I appreciate most is how practical and grounded the toolkit is. It includes:

• A self-assessment tool to help organisations identify how inclusive their support really is
• Guides on safe spaces, communication, and understanding the female veteran experience
• Resources that organisations can download and use immediately
• Tools to help build Armed Forces staff networks and embed a more veteran-aware culture

Nothing about it feels theoretical. It feels like something I would have wanted organisations to have when I first transitioned out of service.

A room full of lived experience

What will stay with me most from the launch is the sense of shared identity in the room. Having the Minister for Veterans and People speak with such authenticity was powerful. There was no disconnect between policymaker and veteran; she was standing there as both.

And I felt the same duality in myself: veteran and peer supporter, beneficiary and advocate.

It’s rare to experience a veteran event where the leadership, the contributors, and the attendees reflect the community the work is intended to support. Yesterday was one of those rare days.

For so long, many female veterans have quietly adapted to services that weren’t built around us, they were built for men. But at the launch, standing alongside other women who’ve walked similar paths, it felt like we were stepping into a new chapter. One where:

• Our experiences shape the solutions
• Our voices are central, not peripheral
• Our stories are catalysts for change

The FVTP deserves huge credit for placing lived experience at the heart of everything. You could feel it in the conversations, in the toolkit, and in the energy of the room.shutterstock

Walking out of Royal Hospital Chelsea, toolkit in hand, I sensed something I rarely felt during my transition out of the military: hope.

Not vague hope – but the tangible, rooted kind that comes from knowing something real is shifting. I felt proud. Not just of the toolkit, but of the fact that so many women who served are shaping this change.

As a female veteran, the launch was a reminder that our service continues, not in uniform, but through advocacy, collaboration, and the strength we bring to each other.

For more information about the toolkit and to download its materials, it can be found here: Supporting Female Veterans : Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust