"I cannot emphasise enough the importance of dealing with your postal ballot papers as soon as you get them, following the instructions and getting them back in the post or despatched under local arrangements as quickly as you possibly can."  BAFF's Douglas Young, a member of the consultative Service Voting Working Group* established by the Ministry of Justice, updated the unofficial Army Rumour Service website on 21 Apr 2010 about the impact of the volcano ash situation upon voting arrangements for British military voters overseas:

The Howard League for Penal Reform’s Inquiry into Former Armed Service Personnel in Prison published its final report recently in the run up to Armed Forces Day on Saturday 25th June:

A BBC Radio 4 investigation asks why the Ministry of Defence continues to use a drug that has been shown to cause psychosis, hallucinations, paranoia and confusion. It is alleged that, unlike other travellers who are able to make an informed choice and change their medication if they experience problems, some British service personnel in malarial regions have been given no choice and, in some cases, have been ignored when they reported side effects.

The Bolton News reports that new research is being carried out in Bolton to find out why (according to some sources) there are "so many" Armed Forces veterans in prison. It is a controversial subject, on which serious fact-based research is to be warmly welcomed.

Veterans' mental health charity Combat Stress report a 26% increase in the number of ex-Service personnel seeking help for mental ill-health and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) over the last year. They say that the increase is mainly accounted for by a marked rise in those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan seeking help.

The local staff safety issue has been coming up again lately, with new reporting by The Times's Deborah Haynes. BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat says that hundreds of Afghan interpreters are worried they'll be killed after British forces leave Afghanistan -

The courts have decreed in a number of cases, such as the Afghan detainee case only last week, that insurgents and criminals detained by British forces in Iraq or Afghanistan are covered by the Human Rights Act. Now the UK Supreme Court has determined in the Pte Jason Smith case by a majority of 6 votes to 3 that the jurisdiction of the Act does not extend to British forces personnel on overseas missions. Part of the reasoning for that decision is that all British armed forces personnel, including compulsorily mobilised personnel like Scottish TA soldier Jason Smith, are volunteers. Giving his initial reaction to the Supreme Court's judgement issued today 30 Jun 2010, BAFF Chairman Douglas Young said that:

French soldiers' rights campaigners have welcomed President François Hollande's announcement that they will be allowed to form professional associations, following two rulings in October by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

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.

Cases that drag on for months or even years can have a significantly harmful effect on the health and welfare of all those involved. Despite improvements I cannot give an assurance this year that the Service complaints system is yet working efficiently, effectively or fairly.

Dr Susan Atkins, Service Complaints Commissioner