According to this report by the Daily Telegraph, an adviser to the Ministry of Defence has warned that the Armed Forces remain "critically ill" and recent proposals amount to "little more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic":
(Update 02 Nov: MoD response below). Various media have carried the story that apparently for the first time since the Falklands War in 1982, defence cuts have left the "stretched" Royal Navy unable to provide an emergency standby ship to protect British waters for a month. The Daily Telegraph reported that:
UPDATE: Aasmah Mir's report, which was in many ways uplifted by the positive approach taken by former Iraqi local staff who were relocated to Glasgow under the UK Government's Iraqi Locally Engaged Staff Assistance Scheme, is now available from the BBC iPlayer at the link shown below.
British troops serving in Afghanistan could miss out on mail from their loved ones because of the "huge and unmanageable" amount of donations sent by members of the public, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has said.
Army chiefs have revealed they are being "overwhelmed" by the volume of parcels and shoeboxes sent to unnamed British service personnel overseas.
They say that makes it more difficult for frontline supplies and post from families to get through. BritishForcesNews reports (16 Sep).
Poles, Czechs and Slovaks fought in British skies, far from home, and helped win the Battle of Britain.
Those service personnel who joined British forces in the skies and on the ground are being honoured in an exhibition at the RAF Museum in north London. BritishForcesNews reports (19 Sep).
Guardian 14 Sep 2011: "A family who were repeatedly denied compensation for their internment during the second world war were treated disgracefully by the Ministry of Defence, which acted in an "extraordinarily insensitive" way towards them, the parliamentary ombudsman has ruled." The story continues:
This year's Continuous Attitude Survey was published some days ago, but due to competing armed forces stories has received unusually little media attention. BritishForcesNews reported on the same day as the report was made available on this website for logged-in BAFF Members and BAFF Military Supporters. Now today's Mirror has a story about the survey.
A BAFF spokesman was asked about morale in three recent radio interviews about the tranche 1 redundancy notifications. Talk of "low morale" in the armed forces can be easily misunderstood, so our man made it clear that people generally were "not going about with long faces", and that service personnel were getting on with their jobs as they always do. But
On the last day for posting parcels to Camp Bastion, BritishForcesNews reports (02 Dec) that with comedy home movies posted on the internet having become something of a seasonal tradition, first out with their camcorders this year are the men and women of the Royal Logistic Corps's Eighty Postal Courier Squadron bracing themselves for a busy time ahead... Related links below.
The British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) has been quoted again in Parliament.
The British Armed Forces Federation takes the view that the Baha Mousa Inquiry chaired by Sir William Gage has made a fair and thorough job of a difficult and painful investigation. In addition to the fullest possible implementation of the recommendations, BAFF regards it as a further test of our system that any further investigation, prosecution or administrative action be conducted fairly, and not in the atmosphere of a witch-hunt or for reasons of political expediency.
While there can be no excuses for the criminal or undisciplined mistreatment of anyone in the custody of British forces, comparatively junior individuals must not be left to take all the blame after what the Inquiry found to be a clear “corporate failure” by the MoD to adopt a proper and consistent doctrine for detainee holding and questioning. Failures to plan and provide adequate resources for the occupation also played their part.
According to a story in the Telegraph (09 Sep), "Nineteen soldiers could face criminal charges for their role in the death of an innocent Iraqi man after a public inquiry found he was the victim of “appalling and cowardly” violence while in British custody":
The Report of the Baha Mousa Inquiry can be accessed from the Inquiry's site at the link below, but some may have difficulty accessing the pages, via Google Docs. Our immediate reaction is that the Chairman's statement was impressive, but we will be examining the report in more detail and would welcome comments from logged-in BAFF members and BAFF military supporters.
The report of the Baha Mousa inquiry will be released later today, Thursday 08 Sep 2011. The Chairman of the Inquiry will make a short statement at 11.00am "to mark the laying of the Inquiry Report before Parliament later in the day". BBC News reports:
A survey carried out on behalf of leading charity Combat Stress has revealed that 49 per cent of GPs are familiar with guidelines on PTSD from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on PTSD. Only 42 per cent were familiar with the guidelines. The Daily Telegraph reports that:
Half of doctors are unaware of official guidelines on how to diagnose mental health trauma because of battle scars from the frontline, a survey has found.
The news will lead to fears that thousands of veterans are not being diagnosed early enough to prevent the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A survey carried out by independent pollster ComRes found that just 42 per cent of GPs are familiar with guidelines on PTSD from National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on PTSD.
Forty-nine per cent said they were not familiar with them at all. ComRes, which was commissioned by veterans mental health charity Combat Stress, surveyed 1,006 GPs across the UK in July 2011.
The guidelines set out clinical best practice on how medical professional should manage and deal with PTSD sufferers, as well offering ways of treating the mental illness.
Combat Stress, the veterans’ mental health charity which is raising money through its 'Enemy Within' appeal to deal with the problem, said its figures showed that too few doctors were diagnosing PTSD among veterans.
It found that over the past 12 months just 5 per cent of the 1,426 veterans it helped were referred to it by GPs.
Failing to diagnose PTSD early, and take medical action, can lead to the onset of much more serious problems, such as alcoholism and depression.
Walter Busuttil, Combat Stress's medical services director, said: “Our clinical audits tell us that 80 per cent of veterans who come to Combat Stress for clinical treatment have first tried to get help from either their GP or other specialist services, but have not received the support and treatment that they needed.
“This has led to around half the veterans who come to Combat Stress each year essentially self-referring.”
Dr Clare Gerada, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, admitted that “inequalities persist surrounding the care of military personnel when they return to the UK”, adding that the college has produced guidance “to help GPs better understand veterans’ particular needs”.
She added: “Veterans pose a unique challenge for GPs, but the role the generalist can play in identifying post traumatic stress disorder, or indeed any other mental health problems that may manifest as a result of the often difficult and dangerous situations that veterans work in around the world, is invaluable.”
More than 180,000 British troops have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.
... Last year, Combat Stress launched its “Enemy Within” appeal, supported by The Daily Telegraph, to raise funds for the network of psychiatric nurses to treat veterans.
To contribute to Combat Stress's Enemy Within appeal, send a cheque payable to "Combat Stress" to the charity at Tyrwhitt House, Oaklawn Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 0BX.
Or go to www.combatstress.org.uk/tele to donate online.
- Full story, by Christopher Hope Whitehall Editor, The Daily Telegraph
- NICE clinical guideli on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Defence Select Committee Inquiry into Medical Care for the Armed Forces - Written evidence from the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF)
- Combat stress: 44 calls every week to Government helpline to discuss mental health problems
According to The Sunday Telegraph (04 Sep), Church of England Bishops are set to warn ministers that plans to care for the armed forces do not go far enough:
The Sunday Telegraph (04 Sep 2011) reports that British troops are being asked to secretly inform on their comrades as part of an investigation into allegations that soldiers systematically abused civilians during the Iraq War. The report, which includes significant comments from the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) spokeman, continues:
Portsmouth News reports that the ban on women serving in Royal Navy submarines is "set to be lifted" after medical experts told the Ministry of Defence that female sailors face no greater hazard on boats than their male colleagues. This news is in line with earlier predictions. The News' story continues:
The Chairman of the Baha Mousa Inquiry has announced that he intends to publish his report on 8 September 2011. The Sunday Telegraph says that the three-year inquiry into how Mr Baha Mousa died while in British custody in Iraq "will clear the Army of operating a systematic regime of torture". There is no room for complacency, because according to the newspaper, the inquiry will instead criticise individual soldiers and failings in the chain of command which led to his mistreatment:
Previous studies in both the UK and US have found that, compared with regular troops, reserve military personnel had more mental health issues -- including more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- after returning home from operations in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The latest research at King's College London suggests that difficulty readjusting to civilian life may account for some of that extra risk.
Members of the armed forces can be at a disadvantage when they need to borrow after they return from overseas or leave the services, because their itinerant lifestyle and lack of credit history can ruin their chances.
Your borrowing needs in future years could include buying a car, obtaining a mortgage to buy a family home, or even starting your own business.
According to the credit reporting company Experian Interactive:
Your credit status is based on a host of factors, from a track record of repaying what you owe to being on the electoral register.If you don’t meet the normal criteria because of a military career, you could find it difficult to get credit or have to pay higher interest because lenders don’t know whether you’ll be reliable.
Fortunately, according to an article on MoneyExpert.com, there are a number of things which you can do to improve your credit score:
According to the Telegraph, the Prime Minister has been "warned" that the Army "will be hit by a damaging wave of resignations" if ministers make fresh cuts in allowances for the school fees of servicemen’s children. Officers, including elite Special Forces commanders, are said to be prepared to quit over the issue:
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has just published the report of its inquiry into "the use of information to manage the logistics supply chain". Media reporting highlights comments in the report that the IT systems used to manage the complex supply chain were "not adequate for the task".
As a result, the risk of failure of these warehouse inventory systems was considered "extremely high" - and was recently rated as "critical" by the MoD's Defence Logistics Board. The report said: "If these systems fail, then the result could be shortages at the front line within as little as 30 days."
Responding to the report, Defence Minister Peter Luff MP said that "Ensuring our armed forces on the frontline have all they need is a top priority and there are no shortages in Afghanistan."
It's the result of many hours of hard work and the grandest day in the Sandhurst calendar, as friends, family and VIPs gather to watch Officer Cadets take part in their final challenge - the 166th Sovereign's Parade. For the first time all of the cadets currently at Sandhurst were on parade including the junior division, with 242 passing out. BritishForcesNews reports (12 Aug).
The Ministry of Defence has become "more wasteful" and "worse at caring" for Armed Forces personnel since the Coalition took office, military staff and defence officials believe. The Daily Telegraph reports on the results of polling for the MoD's annual report:
Today's Scotsman leads with claims by former officers that the Ministry of Defence decision to move the army out of Edinburgh and sell off its historic buildings is financially driven, unpopular and gives the impression of "chaos at the top". BAFF comment: The availability of land for a new major training area is likely to be a major element in this decision, but the needs of personnel and their families also need be taken into account. The Scotsman story continues:
The Ministry of Defence has apologised after thousands of recently-retired veterans were underpaid their pensions. The former RN officer who discovered the error has criticised SPVA for "being happy to sit back and not inform them they were being paid incorrectly". The Belfast Telegraph reports that:
The Library of the House of Commons has produced a timely information note for MPs which examines the possible roles of the police and armed forces in controlling riots.
A former commander of British Forces in Afghanistan has said that bringing in the Army to help quell the riots in London, Manchester and across the country would be a step too far. A report by ForcesNews continues:
Writing in The Times newspaper, Colonel Richard Kemp said: “The last thing we want is for British troops to face rioting mobs on the streets of the UK again.”
Colonel Kemp, who himself experienced rioting firsthand during a tour of Northern Ireland, instead argued that water cannons and plastic bullets might be a feasible option.
“I have seen several situations in the past few days where these weapons would have saved injury and destruction of property,” he said.
So far COBRA, the government’s emergency committee has excluded the possibility of deploying military forces onto the UK’s streets.
Last night saw comparatively less violence and disorder in London, with small skirmishes breaking out only in a few areas such as Canning town.
The Prime Minister David Cameron returned early from his summer holiday in an attempt to regain control over the capital, with an extra 10,000 police officers being deployed on the streets of London last night.
However, there were more serious incidents in the north of the country with rioting and looting occurring in Salford, Manchester and Birmingham.
A woman is to command a frontline warship for the first time in the 500-year history of the Royal Navy. Lieutenant Commander Sarah West, 39, will take control of the Type 23 frigate HMS Portland and a mostly male crew of 185 in April. BritishForcesNews reports (08 Aug).
Guardian: "There would be political and practical difficulties in deploying the army on the streets of London to tackle the riots, say academics." The story continues:
There's been lots of debate in the media about the growing problem of alcohol abuse and the problems associated with it. Interview with Dr Rob Hicks about how big a problem alcohol abuse is within the forces. BritishForcesNews reports (04 Aug).