By a special correspondent
The military covenant was a very new phenomenon, the Defence Select Committee were told today.
Up-to-the-minute perspectives on defence, security and peace issues from and for policy makers and opinion leaders. |
By a special correspondent Order of Bath (KCB) Michael Mates MP for East Hampshire has introduced into Parliament a Bill to provide for equality in pension provision for the widows of servicemen. His purpose is to end the current discrimination against pre-1973 forces widows', who receive a substantially lower pension than widows whose husbands served after the date of the change. Written statement by The Secretary of State for Defence, 31/03/09 By Ian Godden, SBAC Chief Executive The following is a written ministerial statement from the Minister for the Armed Forces Bob Ainsworth on Programme Belvedere; to be published tomorrow (8th May 2009) During a recent Parliamentary trip to Afghanistan, the British Army was keen to demonstrate the process by which wounded soldiers are flown in to Kandahar on a Hercules (based at RAF Lyneham) and swiftly transferred across the runway to a C-17 fully equipped with the latest medical equipment. The full text of the speech on the nature of future conflict, given by the UK Chief of the General Staff The hard pressed UK MoD has made gifts to the US Armed Forces. They include four permanent protected structures currently used as UK dining facilities located within the Contingency Operating Base (COB), Basra. The COB has been occupied by the UK Armed Forces since May 2003 as part of Operation TELIC. The UK's planned transition within Iraq will see our Armed Forces, during the early part of 2009, hand over responsibility for the military operation within Multi-National Division (South East) to the US. In order to enable the transition the UK Armed Forces will be required to vacate the COB to allow a US Brigade Unit under the command of HQ 10th Mountain Division to infill. The rumour mill has been churning at maximum revolutions since the Cabinet and Ministerial reshuffle. Speculation wasn't abated by the unwillingness/ inability of both No. 10 and the MoD Press office to confirm the titles and responsibilities. The (anonymous to protect the guilty) No. 10 non-spokesman, who on being asked about Lord Drayson said "oh equipment and support" without further enlightenment, threw a good dollop of fuel on the fires of speculation. It should have been a good news story, for which the MoD is usually desperate. As the world rushed to the aid of earthquake stricken Haiti and large numbers of American ships gatehred offshore, there was a notable absentee. The BBC has reported that the Gray report on defence procurement report is being acted upon by Govenment despite them saying in the last few days that it is not ready yet. It seems that the Ministry of Defence is setting up a new unit to buy military equipment and implement Gray recommendations, despite Quentin Davies saying as late as yesterday that report was in draft form only yesterday. Lord Drayson will oversee the new unit. Underneath is the executive summary taken from the recently published Gray Report on MoD acquisition, and part of the response of the Secretary of State for Defence. The Government has responded to the following urgent qestion asked by Dr. Liam Fox MP, Shadow Defence Secretary concerning the Territorial Army. {qtube vid:=ln2DI71HRjU w:=280 h:=233 b:=0 ap:=0 rel:=0} A fairly innocuous question you might say, however when coupled with an email we've just received stating that Bill Rammell MP, Minister for the Armed Forces, could no longer attend an event he was due to speak at owing to "an unforeseen matter arising at the MoD", it does raise an interesting question. What are the MoD planning for Tuesday? Check back then to find out! On the 23rd February Parliament set the maximum numbers of personnel to be maintained for service with the Armed Forces during the year ending 31st March 2011. The figures break down accordingly:
One of the key messages of Andrew Murrison MP's Sixty Second Soundbite is that the reserves have played a significant part in operations in the not-so-distant and will continue to do so in the future. Whilst the Ministry of Defence may dispute The Military Balance's figures, the declining number of reserves is likely to impact on the scope of all future operations, including the regular Armed Forces. A national service of commemoration to mark the 65th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) was held at the Cenotaph on the 8th May. TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, senior government representatives and Defence Chiefs, were joined by representatives of World War II associations, veterans of the conflict, current Service personnel whose grandparents fought in WWII and members of the public. The service was attended by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Wreaths were laid by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, PM Gordon Brown, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, The Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, The First Sea Lord, General Sir David Richards, Chief of the General Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff, and Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely, National President of The Royal British Legion. The Government believes that we need to take action to safeguard our national security at home and abroad. We also recognise that we need to do much more to ensure that our Armed Forces have the support they need, and that veterans and their families are treated with the dignity that they deserve. |
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