Troops suing MoD

[Almost_done]

In todays Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/27/nmines127.xml), an interesting article, regarding the actions of commanders, intelligence and incorrect aircraft.


The men claim that their senior officers knew the valley they had been sent to clear was heavily mined, but did not pass on any warnings.

They also claim that a paratrooper who died in the incident in September last year was killed because the MoD failed to send an appropriate craft to rescue the stranded unit.

[c-bert]

"The downdraft of the craft's (Chinook) propellers set off the mines which killed Corporal Mark Wright, according to the Sun newspaper"

Quality journalism as ever....:ugh: :hmm:

[BellEndBob]

Notwithstanding the tragedy of the incidents highlighted, is this not a very dangerous path to take. Decisions sometimes have to be taken in a very short space of time and under extreme pressure. The very nature of the job means that there is no guarantee that all the 'what if's' can be covered. If we now go down the road where every soldier/sailor/airman can use the law of hindsight to sue their Commanders then we may end up doing nothing because those empowered with the authority to make decisions may not want to risk subsequent legal action.

I know this will be an emotive subject and any risk, no matter how small, should be minimised but, having elected to wear uniform and serve, does it not also mean that you may have to take risks that would be unacceptable in any other line of work.

[The Helpful Stacker]

The Sun said itz wot did it.

It never fails to amaze me how the conjecture and pure b*llocks that 'The Sun' often prints about events that happened on the other side of the world (did they even have a reporter in country at the time?) is considered gospel by other members of the press and society as a whole.

Yes of course the Chinook set the mines off, its just the mixture of TMA-2, PROM 2 and god knows what else mines that surrounded the fence line under the approach to GV in Bosina (that still hadn't been cleared when I was out there last in '98) didn't go off under similar circumstances because they didn't feel like it.:rolleyes:

Utter twaddle and bilge.

[Kitbag]

BEB, I'm sure the court will decide what is and isn't right for a commander to tell his men, however, if the commander was aware, it does not seem unreasonable to expect him to alert his guys. There are numerous threads through Pprune and the other military fora which lead me to think that there are an awful lot of intelligent servicemen who will stick their necks out, but it sure is useful to know what you are actually dealing with, if nothing else it may change ones tactics.

[BellEndBob]

KItbag. Fair enough but whenever has Information Flow been a strong point in the military? I have been on a total of 5 tours in the sand over the last 16 tears and I have come back from various jobs furious with the gaping holes in the initial brief I was given. My reaction was to find out where the mistakes were made and endeavour to make sure they did not happen again.
I'm afraid, and I will get flamed for this, that some of the recruits we are getting today come from a very different society. They know all about their rights and precious little about their responsibilities. Thus, I fear that in the future we may well end up with a timid leadership that is incapable of getting the job through fear of retribution. They are aided and abetted by a lousy media who just love a public hanging.
As an example, my last Unit banned running in the rain in case anyone slipped over. Running on grass was forbidden, full stop. There are Officers legally chalenging being forced to pay Mess Subscriptions. I do not wish to belittle the very serious injuries of those men mentioned but this is, as I said, a very dangerous path to take.

[soddim]

Entering this veritable minefield at great risk - merely to point out to those who sue the MOD that it is a sure way to keep the front line under-equipped.

Takes cover.

[ZOFO]

soddim,

I must admit I am with you on this one, we live in a sue ,sue ,sue society nowadays, Don't these people know that the payout they receive takes away that one/sometimes multiple bits of kit that the likes of thee and me might need one day..

Grabbing Kevlar now sir!

Watch out for that splinter on the ladder sir

[boswell bear]

Seems to me that todays society forgets that once you've joined the armed forces you've just become potential Cannon Fodder :rolleyes: