The Times reports (26 Apr 2010) that tens of thousands of people living overseas may have lost their chance to vote in the General Election because of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud - but an exception was made for the final batch of applications from British soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defence is thought likely to relax the long-standing rule preventing women serving in the infantry.

A report by Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor of The Times (£ link) suggests that the review into female combat soldiers, which was brought forward by the previous Defence Secretary last April, is likely to be signed off by Michael Fallon as early as next week.

As has been the case since the start of the review, it is widely expected that the MoD will give women the chance to serve in ground combat roles.

If the decision proves controversial, some may try to blame the decision on a EU Directive.

London, 12 Sep 2009. Members of the British Armed Forces Federation met today at the Victory Services Club to discuss key issues such as the recruitment of armed forces personnel, continuing development of member services and benefits, and cross-party political engagement.

British military operations risk being undermined by human rights laws and health and safety red tape applying to troops in the field, according to the 'Fog of Law' paper issued by the Policy Exchange think tank on 18 October. The first of two BFBS video reports is available here. The second video features an interview with one of the paper's authors, Tom Tugendhat:

"The soldiers were always good to me, but I'm surprised at this. I had no idea it would all turn out so badly."

Below is yet another report about the plight of former local staff who worked for British forces in Iraq. BAFF continues to support the campaign on behalf of those former local staff who are at greatest risk because of their work for UK forces and agencies. BAFF has given practical help to the campaign, such as obtaining comparative data and documents about the more generous treatment of the issue by allied countries such as Denmark, and more recently, helping to trace a potential witness.

BAFF welcomes the announcement that war widows covered by the 1975 armed forces pension scheme will, from next April, no longer lose their widow's pension if they find a new partner.

The change is not yet in force, nor is it retrospective. It appears that those who have already had their pension withdrawn, because of finding a new partner, will not get it back.

UPDATE: An Army widow whose husband lost his life in Northern Ireland, and who lost her entitlement to service widow's pension on her remarriage, has now started an online petition here: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WAR WIDOWS/ THE WRONG TIME TO DIE!

British military operations risk being undermined by human rights laws and health and safety red tape applying to troops in the field, according to the 'Fog of Law' paper issued by the Policy Exchange think tank on 18 October. In addition to favourable newspaper coverage and a more cautious welcome from the BAFF Chairman in a BBC radio interview, the paper was covered in two video reports by BFBS BritishForcesNews. This is the first of their reports:

With voting now under way, we are putting back on the front page the British Armed Forces Federation plan for the Scottish Independence Referendum. The plan was first published here for comment on 6 June 2012. All comments received from members were taken into account and some changes and additions made. The draft was approved by the BAFF Executive Council and thereafter endorsed by the 2013 AGM.

UPDATE 22 February: The Government again confirmed in Defence Questions today, in answer to a question from Andrew Rosindell MP (Conservative), that emergency measures are being put in place for postal voting from Afghanistan. See Have all service personnel been given all the information to ensure they can cast their vote?

• Are you likely to be on Op HERRICK at the time of the next General Election? The Government has revealed in Parliament that planning is in progress to give you a better chance of successfully voting by post. If this affects you, we suggest you wait out for further info to be issued soon through your unit, and which we will repeat on this website.
• The three Service Family Federations and the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) are actively liaising with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence and the Electoral Commission. Members of Parliament have also been consulted.

The Government must now establish a more truly independent complaints process in the Armed Services, says the House of Commons Defence Committee in its latest report, published today. The report is a response to the Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill, which has completed its passage through the House of Lords, and is now being considered in the House of Commons.