The lot of our wounded, injured and sick (WIS) personnel has changed very little in the last thirty years.  If we are going to change this situation, the first step we must take is to appoint an Armed Forces Ombudsman.  

EVERYONE who commits to Serve, and who is then wounded, injured or sick, should be TREATED TO THE SAME HIGH STANDARDS.

Help for Heroes Recovery Centres have demonstrated how this can be done at the recovery stage. But the same high standards must be applied at all stages of treatment, especially diagnosis.

BAFF members attended a RUSI Members' Discussion Panel this week to discuss the security implications of Scottish Independence, should that be the outcome of the referendum on Thursday 18 September 2014.

BAFF submitted evidence to the Armed Forces Bill Committee in 2011 on a number of points, including the recruitment of young people into the armed forces. With MoD policy on that issue again coming under attack, below for reference is what the British Armed Forces Federation said at that time in part of our written evidence:

The Ministry of Defence went some way to meet our point, but not far enough in our opinion, by introducing the Armed Forces (Terms of Service) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. These regulations extended entitlement to Discharge as of Right (DAOR) to some trainees who would previously have lost their right to discharge before reaching 18. BAFF's view remains that under-18 enlistment subject to all necessary safeguards should not lightly be withdrawn from young people.