Repatriation ceremonies for those killed in operational theatres will move to RAF Brize Norton by 1 September 2011 the Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox has announced today as expected. Fuller details from the Ministry of Defence:

In order to vote in the forthcoming UK local and devolved government elections and the referendum on changing the voting system for electing MPs to the UK Parliament (plans for the Alternative Vote system) all scheduled for 5 May 2011, you must be registered to vote.The deadline for all new registrations and changes to existing details is 14 April 2011.

The Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill has announced the publication today of its Special Report on the Armed Forces Bill. The Committee was tasked by the House of Commons to scrutinise the Bill which makes various changes to existing Military Law.

As in last year's General Election, special arrangements will be made for postal voting from Afghanistan in the elections and referendum on Thursday 5th May - but the Government still recommends proxy voting from overseas if at all possible. According to a report on the 'Get Hampshire' website:

British Forces News reports that three Appeal Court judges have ruled that forces wives who took overseas jobs with the Ministry of Defence are entitled to protection against unfair dismissal:

A story at MailOnline says that "A highly decorated former head of the SAS is quitting the Army following the Government’s decision to cut education allowances for serving soldiers."

The Sunday Mirror has a controversial interview with a serving warrant officer who received devastating injuries on IED disposal duty in Afghanistan:

(BAFF comment below). Politics.co.uk reports that the government will make special provisions for soldiers in Afghanistan who want to vote in the local elections and referendum on May 5th:

(UKPA News) The Duchess of Cornwall has met chaplains deploying to Afghanistan during a visit to the Royal Naval Chaplaincy Service annual conference:

Almost the entire contingent of Britain’s 10,000 troops in Afghanistan have been told they could be sacked within months. BAFF Chairman Douglas Young writes about the issue on the Telegraph.co.uk website:

Of course the threat of redundancy will affect morale on the front line. How could it not?

The Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, sets out in The Sunday Telegraph why he believes the Coalition is right to radically reform UK defences. "The vision we've set out – Future Force 2020 – ensures that by the end of the decade we have coherent, efficient and cutting-edge Armed Forces prepared for the challenges of the future."

The Guardian reports that the British Forces Broadcasting Service, for years a lifeline for members of the armed forces and their families, is to be put out to tender to competitive bidders. The report continues:

BAFF has submitted written evidence to the House of Commons Committee which is considering the Armed Forces Bill 2011. Our three-page memorandum is about Representation of Armed Forces Personnel, the Military Covenant and the External Reference Group, Complaints and Redress, Recruitment of Young People, and Human Rights.

Admiral Chris Parry writes in The Daily Telegraph that:

Independent on Sunday: "A serving British soldier in Afghanistan, enraged by last week's news of Army sackings-by email, believes our forces are being taken for granted. He decided to tell The IoS of his feelings":

The Sun reports that "Dozens of soldiers off to the frontline in Afghanistan have been freezing their sperm in case they are killed or maimed." The article continues:

BAFF is quoted in a report by the Sunday Telegraph defence correspondent, about the Army facing "huge cuts" after withdrawal from Afghanistan. The reductions would make the Army the smallest since the reign of George IV, who reigned 1820-1830. Quotes in the article:

According to the Daily Telegraph, thousands of injured personnel could be forced out of the military on medical grounds after the Army's head of personnel ordered commanders to face up to the "harsh reality" of an efficiency drive. But the minister for defence personnel, welfare and veterans has told the newspaper that no severely injured soldier will leave "until it is right for them and the Army, however long that takes". The newspaper reports that:

A report in The Yorkshire Post claims that "domestic violence has soared across vast swathes of rural North Yorkshire with growing numbers of frustrated ex-servicemen who are unable to find employment fuelling the rise." The report continues:

The Belfast Telegraph reports that efforts to improve services for members of the armed forces in Northern Ireland have opened "deep divisions" between unionists and nationalists at the Assembly:

The widow of a REME soldier killed in Afghanistan in 2008 has accused the Government of breaking its promise to British troops.

A Fijian citizen who was seriously injured in Iraq in 2005, and was diagnosed with PTSD after a further tour but reportedly received no treatment for it, is now threatened with deportation from the United Kingdom.

Many commentators have welcomed the outcome of the House of Commons debate on 11 February 2011 about votes for prisoners. Conservative MP Simon Reevell, who voted for the successful motion, made an interesting point in defence of the European Court of Human Rights, without which much-needed improvements to the UK's court martial system would not have taken place.

According to a report in The Daily Mirror. Prime Minister David Cameron today "stands accused by the Labour Party" of breaking "10 crucial election pledges" to Britain's armed forces:

According to a report in The Guardian, the armed forces have been warned that they cannot be spared from the government's spending cuts as pressure mounts on ministers to reconsider changes that could cost families thousands of pounds in pensions and allowances.