The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, says that never again will British troops be deployed in operations like Afghanistan. There is neither the political appetite, nor the money.

Instead, they will be involved in more limited counter-terrorism operations, in cooperation with intelligence agencies and indigenous forces.

The latest feedback to CGS's briefing team, summarised in Soldier magazine, has highlighted concerns about cuts in Army numbers and spending on accommodation, and deep worries about future pension cuts. CGS used an article in the same issue to respond to the concerns raised, saying he sympathised with some of his soldiers’ complaints. From a report in The Daily Telegraph:

BAFF's primary interest at this stage is in ensuring the maximum participation in the referendum by those armed forces personnel and their partners who are registered or genuinely entitled to register to vote in Scotland, in order to make their own voting choice when the time comes.

"Maximum participation" raises various issues including publicity, information, ease of registration and, of course, the actual voting process, especially for those entitled service personnel who are away from Scotland at the time of the referndum, and their wives, husbands or civil partners. The franchise for the referendum must not be less than the franchise for Scottish parliamentary and local government elections.

UPDATE: The Westminster Hall debate on "Participation of Scottish armed forces personnel in a referendum on Scottish independence" , which was due to be held on Wednesday, 25 January, did not take place as the proposer of the debate was not present. This can often indicate that the Government has managed to persuade the proposer that, for one reason or another, the debate would not be timely.

The cancelled debate and BAFF's stance on the issue is mentioned at:

Will there be any continuing reserve liability after redundancy?

Although this may seem a rather remote issue to those currently considering their options, the question has been asked, and the answer may be surprising.

This article, originally posted on 18 January, is topical because of a report in today's Daily Telegraph (09 Apr).

Ahead of the T2 redundancy announcement, the Independent's Defence Correspondent writes that the blueprint for shape of the army will be submitted to the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, in the next two months. The plan will reduce Regular Army numbers to 82,000, and a  number of historic regiments may be merged and bases more dispersed throughout the country.

In yet another sign that BFG really is closing down, this year's performance of Cinderella could be the last annual panto in Rheindahlen. The Panto Cinderella will be at The Liitle Theatre, JHQ on 19th-22nd January and 26th-28th January. Tickets cost €8, on sale at The Little Theatre. ForcesNews reports (12 Jan):

BAFF urgently seeks the views of members and supporters on Question 6 of the published Scotland Office consultation paper -

What are your views on which people should be entitled to vote in a Scottish referendum?

The British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) will be responding to the UK Government's consultation paper on how a "legal, fair and decisive" referendum is to be conducted.

Responses to that paper are due to the Scotland Office (a UK Government Department) by 9th March, 2012.

Similarly, BAFF is likely to respond to the SNP Government's own consultation paper which it intends to publish later this month. UPDATE:  We are now starting to add our comments below as an indication of our likely responses to the consultations, subject to any further views received from BAFF Full Members or Supporters.

In February 2010 the Council of Europe issued detailed recommendations to its member states on the human rights of members of the armed forces.

Below is the main text of Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)4 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, about the human rights of armed forces personnel. Our notes in square brackets are not part of the recommendation. Click here for BAFF introduction to this document. Click here for Council of Europe's Explanatory Memorandum to CM Recommendation on human rights of armed forces personnel.

A Welsh Territorial Army soldier who shot dead an Afghan he believed to be in the act of laying an IED could become the first British soldier to be charged with murder in that theatre. While any charges under military law would be a decision for the independent Service Prosecuting Authority, BAFF has commented on an aspect of the case.

According to the armed forces mental health charity Combat Stress, defence cuts could see thousands more combat veterans needing NHS help to cope with a range of mental illnesses

From a story by Nick Hopkins of The Guardian:

A soldier in Afghanistan wearing the new camouflage pattern. Picture: Corporal Barry Lloyd RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010According to the Army's in-house magazine Soldier, the relatively new PCS field uniform in Multi Terrain Pattern (MCP) camouflage material has been criticised as a "fashion faux pas" which is shapeless, too American and more akin to an Action Man costume.

We havent picked up such strong feelings before, to be honest. What do you think?

Inevitably, the dreaded "jacket v shirt" argument has been resurrected again! That particular argument goes back as far as the Second World War, when the Army supposedly rejected a jacket-type top because of representations from the Brigade of Guards, and the undeniably smarter short battledress jacket was adopted instead for temperate uniform.

Many members of the irreverent 'ARRSE' community website have been expressing their concern and good wishes for the early recovery of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh after an emergency hospitalisation. This video report shows HRH on duty earlier this month at RAF Kinloss, where he presented new colours to The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, recently returned from Afghanistan:

Earlier this week Forces News revealed that there has been an alarming rise in the number of service personnel struggling with debt.  Today Forces News takes a look at Germany and how the change in overseas allowances and debt is affecting those living in BFG. BritishForcesNews reported (22 Dec):

The Ministry of Defence has published the first interim report on the Military Covenant, as required by the Armed Forces Act 2011. We quote in full this copyrighted story by Huffington Post UK, because of its obvious interest, but also because of its multiple references to "those representing rank-and-file-officers".

They mean the Mod-supported service family federations - but not any federation specifically representing personnel. In fact, the MoD's report goes out of its way to say that personnel are not entitled to (collective) representation by a federation.

The Army Welfare Service in Germany has described the number of people approaching the organisation with debt problems as only the tip of an iceberg. AWS's message this Christmas is that, however large the problem, nobody in financial difficulty should fear seeking help and that there are free specialist services available. Some of these help sources are listed at our Web Links page. BritishForcesNews reported (21 Dec):

Interview now available online

Logged-in members and supporters can now listen to a recent BBC interview by BAFF spokesman Adrian Weale.

This was a telephone interview at very short notice on BBC Radio Wales's Good Evening Wales programme on 20 Dec. With Sarah Dickins.

Recommended listening for BAFF members and registered supporters. If you are not already registered but are serving or have served in any part of HM Forces including the reserves, you can register free of charge today.

British Army morale is now claimed to be at an "unprecedented" low ebb. Soldiers interviewed by the official British Army magazine, quoted in the Daily Telegraph, have expressed "previously unheard" views on the state of the Army.

The Ministry of Defence has announced that British troops are to get pelvic protection to protect them from roadside bombs. The special anti-blast underwear consists of a three layered system of clothing and armour, which also includes special armoured trousers. Nearly 350 British troops have been killed in Afghanistan and many more have been injured, often by IED blasts. 

BritishForcesNews reports (16 Dec).

The House of Commons Select Committee on Defence has just published the following report:

The Department of Work and Pensions has confirmed that the review of bereavement benefits announced by the Minister for Welfare Reform on 12 Dec does NOT affect payments to service widows or widowers under the War Pensions Scheme or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

The Defence Secretary has confirmed, as predicted, that women will be allowed to serve aboard Royal Navy submarines. In a major speech today at the Royal United Services Institute, Mr Hammond said that:

Dudley MP Ian Austin has backed a Parliamentary campaign against "plans to cut pay for members of the Armed Forces". According to the Labour MP's website:

The Chancellor, in yesterday's Autumn Budget Statement, announced that public sector pay rises would be capped at 1 per cent for two years when the current pay freeze ends in 2014. With inflation likely to exceed 1 per cent the pay cap means a pay cut in real terms for public servants, including members of the armed forces.

Unlike earlier announcements by the Coalition government and by their predecessors, there is no mention this time of measures to protect the pay of junior personnel.

While there are unique characteristics of military service which must always be reflected in a fair remuneration package, the armed forces are clearly not exempt from the current public spending situation. The real-terms pay cut should, however, be viewed in the context of ever-increasing charges and diminishing opportunities to save money from allowances.

Irreverent military bullshit website, the Army Rumour Service - ARRSE for short - has now produced what is laughably described as an insider's guide to the British Army. Author Major Des Astor is described by his own literary agent as "one of the most extensively passed-over officers in British military history". Astor told British Forces News what readers could expect. Update: This fine training pamphlet is now available in Kindle format, as well as in handy wipeable hardback.

The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS), which was introduced and subsequently reviewed under the previous Labour Government, treats the most seriously wounded personnel more generously than the War Pensions scheme which preceded it. BAFF members who had suffered serious but not catastrophic injuries told us that their claims have been settled promptly and satisfactorily under AFCS. Yet the scheme remains controversial. The Sunday Mirror reports that:

The Sun reports that volunteer members of the armed forces will be working as security staff at the London Olympics. It appears that, in a similar arrangement as that for forces personnel assisting at Wimbledon, they will be paid by the MoD as normal during the period of duty. Supposedly, one difference from Wimbledon is that they would be wearing civilian security staff uniform. From the newspaper:

Philip Hammond gave his first newspaper interview as Defence Secretary on Friday, during a visit to British troops who have been involved in the Libya campaign from Italy's Gioia del Colle airfield. From MoD Defence News: