So should the law be re-phrased to say that the armed forces should be treated the same as an ordinary civilian - no more,no less? Why bother then? In my opinion a care nurse has a demanding job to do, but comparable to walking down a street with a sniper threat, or defusing an IED, it simply isn't. Should the forces be treated better? Of course they should.
I may have misunderstood you, but if that means we should be treated better than we already are, then yes. If that means we should be treated better
than the next man, then no.
I have ongoing needs as a result of my service but I joined up for the craic and a bit of experience and I didn't/don't see myself as better or worse than anyone else. The Forces should be treated commensurate with their circumstances, sure, but the point about this is that we should not be placed on a pedestal just because we volunteered, but that we should not be unfairly
disadvantaged at the time and point of need when (and if) we need to address the results and consequences of matters arising as a result of our service. I do think that the system should be weighted better so that the playing field is at least level in terms of outcomes but I don't think that a firefighter who gets badly injured fighting a fire should be queue jumped by a serviceman, for instance, simply because of a previous employment code. I do believe that if the MoD retains an ongoing duty of care too, and if that means retaining a stake in Veterans Hospitals (as if, I know) so the quality of care for the badly injured can be assured, then so be it.