Folks....
Thanks to all who have responded to the thread. I started this because of my utter dismay at the whole
PR 'blunder' and the shambolick attitude by the civvies who hold the purse strings. I fully appreciate that the rules are written to avoid the 'taxpayer' from having to pay for excessive funeral charges? I wasn't aware that we now had a
'head value' that we weren't to exceed! It appears that the civvies now dictate how the armed forces should be saying fairwell to our fallen brethren regardless of uniform colour.
Many have said the JSP/AP issues are there for our guidance and are totally correct.....but these men and women, who loyally took an oath to serve their country, have paid the ultimate price in the service of that country on operations. Perhaps an AL1 covering Op service is warranted? I believe that there is a very big difference between a tragic accident within the routine serving environment and the loss of life in the line of duty....for want of a better phrase. I apologise to all those that don't agree with me but that's my standpoint.
The upper echelons nevertherless, saw fit to orchestrate a memorial service to pay hommage to the memory of those that paid the price. This was a very noble and justified act but it also included generating AT
at a cost which, even when tied to a routine trg mission is still a
COST! Even by my simplistic reckoning, I think getting all those personnel (and regalia) to the service would have cost the taxpayer over 1K? Indeed, I would guess that the total may have been more than the cost for flowers, tea and biscuits for all of the crew in this instance. I don't know if refreshments were provided after the event as I wasn't able to attend due to other tasking but if it was who picked up the tab?
As it now appears that we are being censored in publishing opinions on a public forum perhaps freedom of speach also comes at a cost too great for us to bear.....what is happening to this glorious country of mine?
As my closing wish....should anyone have the details of a memorial fund that was set up after this tragic accident, could you please PM me so that I can sleep easier with my
conscience, clear in the hope that somebody, somewhere will think likemindedly and put this whole sorry issue to rest.
We now stand at over 130 servicemen and women lost in the line of doing their
duty for something that they took
pride in doing to the
best of their
ability. So that would be a little 130K for the families to see off each and every one lost in a manner befitting their sacrifice and in the company of those that cherish their memory. A small amount compared to the daily cost of keeping personnel in harms way.
It makes my heart bleed knowing that if Mrs Agitator has to put me away......she may have to turn away some of my colleagues for fear of not having sufficient funds to buy a
few extra Hob Knobs!
Yours despondently
SA
