Rudekid: spot on, both about whipping up the press (as I mentioned previously) and about how unimpressive the UKNDA lot really look. Great perhaps for political lobbying but I can't see any of them condoning, let alone taking part in, a march to whip up said press support.
JessTheDog:
1. Accountability - yes, great point!
2. Proper funding and equipment vs 'just not in time' - totally agree!
3. Welfare provision - a given in many other countries so why not in ours?
4. Priority care for veterans - sorry but not necessarily. Perhaps this aim needs rewording??
My take on this may be unpopular here but ... I think the
same priority as everyone else, yes, but no one person should be given priority over any other one person when being treated on the NHS, simply on the basis of their work history.
(Why do I take that view? - we all took the Queen's shilling, knowing full well what might happen to us. It's an occupational hazard after all. However, I don't remember anything about it making us
more deserving of treatment than those we undertook to defend.
A civvie with a manky arm sustained in a factory accident is just as entitled to prompt, effective and free treatment on the NHS as a squaddie who gets a manky arm from an IED in Iraq. Whether either gets it is of course a different matter.)
Appropriate treatment for people's injuries (e.g. lack of proper swimming pool at Headley Court) is a different matter altogether...
This march CAN happen! It WILL raise the profile of the issues we care about! It MAY change something! What is for certain is that doing NOTHING will achieve NOTHING!
Spot on!
