Dean Phillips Shortlisted for
Role Model of the Year at English Veterans Awards
We are excited to announce that Dean Phillips, Veterans Welfare Group’s Armed Forces Lead, has been shortlisted for Role Model of the Year at this year’s English Veterans Awards.
Organisers said that more applications were received this year than any of their previous UK Awards.
Dean spent 22 years as an RAF medic before being medically discharged in 2024. He now works continuously with veterans and service leavers, including those going through medical discharge themselves.
During his RAF career, Dean served on operations across the Middle East and Southern Europe. He worked across seven medical centres and two occupational health departments.
For more than three years, he managed the RAF’s Aeromedical Evacuation Control Centre, coordinating the repatriation of injured personnel from locations around the world to the UK.
His career took a turn when he was medically discharged in 2024 following his experience of military injury.
The uncertainty that ruled this period and the lack of resources out there were problems he would help to redress later, in his position as Armed Forces Lead.
His firsthand experience is something he draws from in his day-to-day work with Veterans Welfare Group. Following on from his own struggles, he now helps others to understand all their options and advises on the best ways to navigate the practical challenges that come with moving from service into ‘civvy street’.
He regularly gives advice and support to service personnel, service leavers and veterans who need it. You’ll see him at many of the events Veterans Welfare Group is involved in, ready to dig in and address the unique and stigmatised struggles that come up for individuals going through medical discharge.
The winners of the Awards will be chosen by an independent judging panel and announced at the ceremony on 1st October at De Vere Cotswold Water Park Hotel. The ceremony will support ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
While it would be a great honour to win, Dean is already pleased to have been nominated and recognised among others for doing crucial work for the Armed Forces community. For him, the real focus is carrying on the work he does every day to improve others’ experiences of medical discharge – and help with the mission to rebuild lives after service.
