GovWire

Servicemen and women will be joined by celebrities, senior military and politicians at a ceremony in the historic National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

As combat operations in Afghanistan have come to an end, 4 special categories this year recognise the challenges and achievements of our service personnel, in particular during time served in Helmand province.

The achievements of the armed forces and those who support them, both here and across the world on other operations and duties, will also be rewarded.

The Sun began announcing this years nominees yesterday in their paper. Today they profile individuals, units and civilian organisations in the following categories:

The Hero at Home Award goes to an individual or unit that has made an outstanding contribution here in the UK.

The nominees are:

• the Fleet Diving Squadron, the Royal Navy unit that specialises in defusing explosives in the waters in and around Britain. Their experts react within 10 minutes to defuse Second World War mines at sea and in inland waterways
• the Royal Engineers, who worked day and night with local communities following last winters devastating floods. They helped save 40 people trapped in their homes during the first day of operations alone
• the RAF Quick Reaction Alert force, whose Typhoon jets are on standby 24-hours-a-day keeping the UKs skies safe. They respond to any civilian or military aircraft that could pose a threat, and can mobilise quickly

The Support to the Armed Forces category recognises those outside the military who give essential support to our servicemen and women.

The nominations are:

• True Heroes Racing, a charity that helps injured personnel to compete in motorbike races, and maintain a hobby they love
• My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, which organises events and workshops for the children of military families
• the cast of the Two Worlds of Charlie F, a theatre company made almost exclusively of injured servicemen and women

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