3 Counties Defence and Security Trading
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

The Armed Forces Covenant

An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families

The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.

Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant

1.1 We 3 Counties Defence and Security Trading will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment

2.1 3 Counties Defence and Security Trading recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- Flexible Leave For Spouses
- UK Reservists
- UK Cadets
- Discounts
We also pledge the following:

Seeking to support the employment of veterans young and old in order to establish a tailored employment pathway for Service Leavers. In particular we will/,” offer free and discounted delegate passes to our annual Defence and Security Expo (JCDSE) to Service Leavers and those in their final year of military service; offer guaranteed interviews to all veterans who meet the minimum selection criteria for any role to which we ourselves recruit,· where possible, seek to prioritize businesses owned by Veterans or those who have themselves signed the Armed Forces Covenant, when awarding contracts or offering partnership opportunities. Striving to support the employment of Service spouses and partners. In particular we will,· where possible, seek to prioritize businesses owned by Services Spouses or those who have themselves signed the Armed Forces Covenant, when awarding contracts or offering partnership opportunities; offer flexible working opportunities for Services spouses and partners who we employ, for example by allowing flexible working hours, at home working part time working, as appropriate,· adapt and apply our policies accordingly to ensure, as far as possible, that Service spouses and partners are not disadvantaged; Seeking to support those who choose to be members of the Reserve Forces, including by,- promoting the employment of Reservists as part of JCDSE; accommodating the training and deployment of any Reservist we employ,- offering a guaranteed interview to all members of the Reserve Forces who meet the minimum requirement for any role to which we recruit; training our managers to understand the benefit of employing members of the Reserve Forces; actively promoting the employment of Reservists in our communications, for example by publishing articles, bios, advice notes and case studies - highlighting the transferable , skl1/s and experience of those in the Reserve Forces; offer 10 days’ additional paid leave to staff who we employ who are members of the Reserve Forces·, Offering support to our local cadet units, either in our local community or in local schools, where possible,· In particular we wilt.- where appropriate, seek to use local Cadet Forces at 3CDSE in order to showcase their skills; offer priority to members of the Cadet Forces when a/locating work experience places within our organisation or at JCDSE; Ensuring that our official charity partner at JCSDE is always an official Armed Forces Charity or a charity which supports members of the Armed Forces Community,· Encouraging exhibitors and delegates at JCDSE to raise funds for Armed Forces Charities at the Expo and via other charitable initiatives throughout the year,· Inviting all of our suppliers, contractors and JCDSE exhibitors to sign up to the Armed Forces Covenant and, where possible, by hosting public signing days at JCDSE; Promoting the Armed Forces Covenant to our contacts and clients where appropriate and signposting them to organisations such as the Reserve Forces & Cadets Association in order that they might show their support.

2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.