Realising that I might be stirring this up a bit, AVM Loader does have a point since the nature of what we do means that there is a lot more rough than smooth and if we want pathos, then we must not be prima donnas. Probably what Melchett meant was the rampant lack of investment - both moral and financial - in our personnel. I find myself asking the question these days if my Boss is busy looking up for his promotion or looking down upon his troops with empathy. Perhaps it is because the old-fashioned ideal of service has been replaced as a reason for joining the Armed Forces. Previous wars have had a level of public support and interest that has not been realised with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the public and also Government are only interested in sensationalism there is no news and hence no interest in the fact that a pair of GR4s performed a 6 hour patrol over Iraq, or a mobile patrol in Afghanistan just returned after 7 days' operations in Helmand. The stupidity of it is that we do a great deal of sensational stuff that appears routine because of the way in which we do it, and in doing so, we cope with shortcomings, but the public and the Government have no interest in our routines and they can always justify a few casualties 'because we knew what we were getting into' as a volunteer force. However, the time is fast aproaching where all the volunteers need to know that we are valued for our ability to cope with the fabled 'train ride to Glasgow', that we are adequately protected when resting between arduous routine duties, that we are adequately equipped to carry out our tasks, that we have the Support Helicopters to deploy, recover and rescue us, that we have Close Air Support and the Air Transport to take us into theatre in a timely fashion and bring us home to those loved ones who have waited so patiently for us to return.
Ultimately, it's not hard - if you want to play in wars then you have to provide the right toys and ensure that your players are prepared, looked after and provided for. It might seem great to politicians to be able to play their real game of Risk from the safety of Whitehall, but it takes more than that to commit to war. It says so much that Gordon has stated all his priorities and we don't feature.
Thoughts?