The Ministry of Defence has announced a new UK-wide study into cancer among serving personnel and veterans who have served since 1990.
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The latest report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee contains a striking observation about the Army's troubled Ajax armoured vehicle programme. It concludes that the Ministry of Defence is placing "unrealistic expectations" on soldiers operating the vehicle safely while underlying noise and vibration issues remain unresolved.
Anyone who has spent any time in an armoured vehicle – which I have – will know that a certain amount of 'track bashing' and other maintenance is involved. So this quote from the report really caught my attention:
An MOD written parliamentary answer to James Cartlidge MP (Cons, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence) reveals that in just under 20 months, nearly sixty thousand applications to join the armed forces were rejected on medical grounds.