Agreed. The troops haven't been given anything at all, he's just told the MoD to shuffle budgets about, and I'm sure it'll be clawed back somehow, in lower maintenance budgets, lower home to duty, lower training etc etc. More time wasting spin from a bunch of idiots for the troops. It'll differentiate too, between the troops who are
there and the troops who are on other ops, why should they have to pay for their bins if they're in Africa, for instance?
It was probably done all at the last minute anyway and caught the MoD on the hop. The War Department website has nothing about it and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the brainwave of a dweeb who thought it would be a no cost high froth content measure to make up for Broons apathy towards the military in his speech, which I thought, was mirrored by the delegates yesterday in general.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7011568.stm
Incidentally, the BBC bird referred to the Armed 'Services'. Is this change of title official? Perish the thought that we might have a 'force' any longer. Or maybe pragmatism at least, is alive and well.