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Army chief warns of social 'gulf'
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Post Army chief warns of social 'gulf' 
....See the BBC link below for full story.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7006720.stm


The head of the British Army says he is becoming increasingly concerned about "the growing gulf between the Army and the nation".

Gen Sir Richard Dannatt said soldiers were sometimes greeted with indifference on returning from service.

....Right enough General !....I remember that feeling with altogether too much clarity, even though it was almost 50 years ago...and the current 'indifference' shown, particularly by government, towards the PJM anomalous decision, does little to assuage my wounded feelings.


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...................'Jock'
Paroi...Rasah...Batu Signals Troop.
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    Jock
    It's to political for me mate to go deep into the subject but Yes the man is correct.

    The gulf between the Forces (not just the Army) and the public is because those that sit in the same Palace as him (MOD) are afraid to make public what goes on behind his closed doors, to our brethren.

    Gen Sir Richard Dannatt. The indifference comes not from the public but from your HQ and the suits in Downing Street.

    Tell the British public what they want to kmow and NOT what you want them to know.

    Phredd (climbs down of his 'Carbolic' soap box)

    ps = does that make scense ?


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Post Re: Army chief warns of social 'gulf' 
[quote="'Jock' Fenton"]....See the BBC link below for full story.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7006720.stm


The head of the British Army says he is becoming increasingly concerned about "the growing gulf between the Army and the nation".

Gen Sir Richard Dannatt said soldiers were sometimes greeted with indifference on returning from service.



Is it any surprise, when the public see, on a daily basis, the total indifference of our MOD 'masters'. Not just in relation to the PJM, but the closure of Military Hospitals (more in need now than since the WW2), the paltry compensation for life changing injuries, the lack of acknowledgement of mental illness etc. etc. etc.
I am also involved in a campaign to retrieve pension contributions from the Government paid by Armed Forces between 1949 and 1976, who did not complete 22 years. They have admitted that the money was taken. Guess what some of the reasons that were given for not returning that money. You're right, it was too long ago and would be too complicated and time consuming to retrieve all the records of those entitled to the pay out. Sound familiar.
They could just put it on an answer phone and then they wouldn't have to speak at all.

Owen Lawrence

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They are quite happy to go into the distant past when it comes to medals...Why not pensions?

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Sadly, there is nothing whatever new about this ::

Rudyard Kipling

Tommy

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o'beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:

O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's ``Thank you, Mister Atkins,'' when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's ``Thank you, Mr. Atkins,'' when the band begins to play.

. . . . . . . . history will always repeat itself !


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Post Social gulf. 
Few bands now, Kentsboro, and even fewer regiments Kipling and his Tommy Atkins would recognise. As for history, well, it simply does not feature in the modern mind-set of this country. Only Malaysia remembers us, and we are so very lucky. Who will remember the dead and the maimed of Iraq and Afghanistan? Where will be their memorial?

MB


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Mike Barton
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Our soldiers, sailors and airmen will [regrettibly] always be pray to the fickleness and all too often, thoughtlessness of political agendas.

In the past, they have been viewed as hero's when defending Nation and the Empire, but seen by many as a nuisance and expense during peacetime.

These days things have become much more muddled, with 'our lads' facing the criticisms that, if anything, our politicians should be facing. Our troops are expected to make omlettes without breaking eggs. We have far too many armchair generals who cannot and do not fully think things through. I suspect they would also be the first to scream for the Armed Services if Al-Qaeda and the Taliban etc. were not kept largely engaged thousands of miles away - and were therefore free to launch a substantial Jihad against Western homelands and interests.

As for memorials in Iraq and Afghanistan; well many of the older ones have faced being defaced and vandalised by politically and religiously disgruntled locals.

A piece from a US newspaper about the WWI memorial at Kut:

'KUT, Iraq - The cemetery is overgrown with reeds similar to the ones that clutter the nearby Tigris River. Headstones lean at ghoulish angles, are broken like chipped teeth, or have collapsed altogether. Residents treat it as they would an empty lot, although it is filled with more than a hundred reasons why great powers administer Iraq at their peril.

It is the graveyard for British soldiers killed here during World War I, when London opened a Mesopotamian front against Ottoman Turkey, Germany's ally.'

My father was with Iraqforce during the fighting to oust the pro-Nazi Prime Minister Rashid Ali. He was amongst those troops detached from the North Africa campaign. He was in the thick of it at Basra and Habbaniya. He was also posted up to Kurkuk. Securing Middle East oil for the Allies was number one on the agenda.

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