Members of the Antigua & Barbuda Ex-servicemen Association, along with former Governor General Sir James B Carlisle on the occasion on the country’s 25th years anniversary in November 2006. (Photo Courtesy Hilroy Browne/Ex-servicemen association)

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – In a bid to inform and educate the public on the contributions made by the armed forces whose members risk their lives for the nation’s safety, Antigua & Barbuda’s Ex-Servicemen’s Association will be taking its message to the airwaves today in its first ever media blitz.

Originally known as The Ex-Servicemen’s Commission prior to its re-establishment in 2004, The Antigua & Barbuda Ex-Servicemen’s Association was formed in 1945 as the Antigua Legion of British Commonwealth Leagues by Antiguans returning from World War II. However, the association fell dormant in the 1950s.

Public Relations Officer for the group Hilroy Browne said the exercise also aims to bring new blood into the organisation to increase membership.

“We are trying to sensitise Antigua & Barbuda that the association still exists years after it went dormant and to debunk the myth that only persons who served in the wars overseas as ex-service personnel. Once you would have served in the Red Cross, the Fire Brigade, Police, all those persons can be considered ex-servicemen and women,” Browne said.

According to the PRO, there are many retirees living in the country who are not aware of the group and what it stands for.

The association today will be conducting several interviews on the various media across the country.

Following the media blitz, the members of the executive will be dividing the island into four zones to identify the old veterans and look at ways in which they could begin providing assistance for them.

(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)