Blair pledge to service personnel...

[Always_a_Civvy]

It is reported in today's Times (12 January 2007) that TB, after being confronted by an aggrieved veteran expressed disbelief that servicemen were being treated so badly... the guy was left homeless after being discharged after developing PTSD following service in Iraq. TB claimed on television hat he though it was an exceptional case... huh - it's been publicised often enough and long enough - but the RBL made sure he didn't get away with that one! He made a promise.. will he keep it... let's wait... and wait... and wait... and see... Letter writing to MPs guys to keep up the pressure - that's what's needed here.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-2544281,00.html

To locate the details of your local MP you can find it via this link below.

http://www.upmystreet.com/commons/l/

 

[whitemouse]

You only have to look at any archive film of TB's performances, he is very adept at 'disbelief', 'incredulous', 'sincere', 'pretty straight kinda guy' ( bleecchh !!) to take this with a pinch of salt.

I'm surprised he hasn't been approached by Hollywood for a 'reality' film of the extremely harzardous life of a 'Head of State' (he wishes !!) :evil:

 

[onions]

I must admit he did seem surprised at the treatment of the ex soldier. But surely he talks to the Defence secretary, or has he had that many in a relatively short time, that he doesn't know who the present encumbant is?

Keep Striving.

 

[icarus]

that he doesn't know who the present encumbant is?

Come on, be fair, do any of us ? :roll:

 

[Darkershadeofblu]

You only have to look at any archive film of TB's performances, he is very adept at 'disbelief', 'incredulous', 'sincere', 'pretty straight kinda guy' ( bleecchh !!) to take this with a pinch of salt.

I'm surprised he hasn't been approached by Hollywood for a 'reality' film of the extremely harzardous life of a 'Head of State' (he wishes !!) :evil:

Watch this space!!!

 

[whitemouse]

He performs again......

Speaks to (down to ?) the ship's company of Albion in Guzz, to state that we should all 'show some backbone'

He bleats that 'in a volunteer force.... conflict & casualty may be a part of what they are called on to face' !

He then goes onto preach 'in general the armed forces are superbly equipped' (as an ex-dusty I can vouch that the equipment was not superb at the best of times) - I wonder what the squaddies in Arrse are saying about this at this moment?

 

[Always_a_Civvy]

He performs again......

Speaks to (down to ?) the ship's company of Albion in Guzz, to state that we should all 'show some backbone'

He bleats that 'in a volunteer force.... conflict & casualty may be a part of what they are called on to face' !

He then goes onto preach 'in general the armed forces are superbly equipped' (as an ex-dusty I can vouch that the equipment was not superb at the best of times) - I wonder what the squaddies in Arrse are saying about this at this moment?

Perhaps the Navy could make him an honorary Rum Bosun for a year with, as his only duty, to live onboard one of HM Ships for a year on a messdeck and see how he gets on... oh and course it would all be filmed as a fly-on-the-wall documentary... perhaps called Tosser? :wink:

 

[andym]

Hot air and empty promises.I wonder if it might be different if we still had NAtional Service and his Lad was in the mob?

 

[angrydoc]

Would be interesting if any politicians son/daughter was in the forces. I wonder what the stats are? A Cabinet Minister with a child on the front line - I wonder if funding and conditions would improve?

 

[noemis]

Link to BBC news, but look at figures at the bottom on GDP

Sorry, couldn't scab table at bottom of piece so had to put in whole story as link.

Where does all that money go? The Frenchies and Krauts (can I still call them that?) spend less as a proportion of GDP on their armed forces, and yet are able to re-equip their armed forces with more up to date equipment, and have more personel!

The Frogs have a 45,000t nuclear powered conventional angled flightdeck carrier, and are more likely to order and build the CVF (having let us spend billions and then saying we can't afford it, believe me it's going to happen, but having paid for all the risk up front) putting proper aicraft on it without a range/payload handicap. They have kept sovereignty, although shared with the Krauts, on all that they have equipped themselves with and don't have to grovel to the Yanks to be allowed to use or modify it! They have Tiger, sorry Tigre, NH90 and Rafael. The Krauts have Typhoon, but I don't think they call it that, NH90, Tiger amongst others. Don't even get me started on A400M FLA!!!

Oh yes, I know!! We embark on wars that we have no way of 'winning', that absorbs all the money that we need to maintain a viable navy!

Arrrghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! :evil:

 

[slim]

Perhaps the Frogs and Krauts do not have a rather large and overpaid number of civil servants that we have been paid for out of the defence budget

 

[chris]

Would be interesting if any politicians son/daughter was in the forces. I wonder what the stats are? A Cabinet Minister with a child on the front line - I wonder if funding and conditions would improve?

wouldnt happen.

there is a royal in the forces already.
anybody with powerful relations wouldnt live in quarters, or would get a very nice one if they did.

not to mention the fact that the RAF will start recruiting clinclly blind pilots before any relation of a figure of authority will see front line action.

i dont see william living in a hole in a mountain in afgan. hunting the taliban....

they are all just cerminonial positions in reality, so politicians dont really care.

send the prince to the front and every ****** within a hundred miles of the front line will have more body armour then a tank.

 

[Always_a_Civvy]

...Where does all that money go? The Frenchies and Krauts (can I still call them that?) spend less as a proportion of GDP on their armed forces, and yet are able to re-equip their armed forces with more up to date equipment, and have more personel!...

France and Germany still rely heavily on conscription and their conscripts receive very poor remuneration. That means they can focus expenditure on hardware. By contrast we have wholly volunteer, professional forces which cost a lot more. An additional problem with Britain however is the whole thorny issue of procurement and the way the private sector runs rings about commercially naive civil servants. Thus something that should cost considerably less costs the British taxpayer considerably more! I remember how the taxpayer got ripped office when the Royal Observer Corps upgraded its nuclear monitoring equipment - the British stuff was greatly inferior to, and considerably more expensive than, what the Swiss had to offer, but... :evil: :x

 

[noemis]

...Where does all that money go? The Frenchies and Krauts (can I still call them that?) spend less as a proportion of GDP on their armed forces, and yet are able to re-equip their armed forces with more up to date equipment, and have more personel!...

France and Germany still rely heavily on conscription and their conscripts receive very poor remuneration. That means they can focus expenditure on hardware. By contrast we have wholly volunteer, professional forces which cost a lot more. An additional problem with Britain however is the whole thorny issue of procurement and the way the private sector runs rings about commercially naive civil servants. Thus something that should cost considerably less costs the British taxpayer considerably more! I remember how the taxpayer got ripped office when the Royal Observer Corps upgraded its nuclear monitoring equipment - the British stuff was greatly inferior to, and considerably more expensive than, what the Swiss had to offer, but... :evil: :x

Just winding myself up with enough vitriol to start a thread on procurement. I don't just think I could do a better job, I know I could!!