The Military Division of the New Year Honours 2020

Sorry but if it was SAC joe blogs who had spent 20 years servicing aircraft bogs I would have more respect for the awards rather than some wing commander who has been awarded it on the backs of the said SAC or has been awarded it by simply attaining a rank, the system is corrupt and stinks to the core, the Country is full of far more deserving people like those that donate their lives to the care of others, whilst earning a piss poor renumeration.

I’m not saying I disagree with the previous viewpoints entirely and I can’t pretend I care either way. I am content that I am highly unlikely to ever receive such an award and it really does not bother me in the slightest.

Here’s the contentious bit though. And I really am just saying it to play devils advocate not because I really believe it. Maybe those senior officers have earned the honour? Maybe the higher up the pole you get, the more influence you have and therefore the easier it is to earn an honour.

I fly jets. I’ve been doing it for a reasonably long time. But in the grand scheme of things, I am just one pilot doing a common job and my individual contribution doesn’t keep the world turning. Andy Edgell’s contribution on the other hand has had more of an impact, hence the honour.

Now, if SAC Bloggs were to have revolutionised the toilet cleaning role and made a contribution that changes the toilet cleaning world for the better then maybe he could receive an honour. But just like I don’t deserve an honour simply for doing my day job maybe neither does he?

I just can’t shake the feeling that every time the honours list comes out we get the standard sour grapes posts. Just try to be happy for others rather than gnashing your teeth. It’ll save your teeth for starters.

BV

It’s so obvious that it’s actually laid out for the public to see at Annex A to Chapter 4 of JSP761. Orders of chivalry originated as ways of recognising armed service so I have no difficulty with the concept of very senior officers being knighted for doing their job very well.

How do you give accelerated promotion to a senior officer when the number of available posts is so small? And yes, a AM who has done sufficiently well to warrant state recognition will have done a ‘better job’ than a wg cdr because the span of their responsibilities is so much greater and they are able to make more of a difference to the success of the wider organisation.

Meanwhile the lack of a ‘K’ for the new chief probably stems from the fact that he only became a 3* just over a year ago and the submissions for this list had to be in several months ago, so he wouldn’t have accrued enough ‘evidence’ in a rank eligible for knighthood. Would be very surprising if he’s not on the next list or the one after, though.

Congratulations to all on the list!

No pomme frites on my shoulder, I simply think the whole system is corrupted, I was reading about the guy on London Bridge who took on the knife wielding terrorist, the fact he in his past was a murderer has instantly prevented him going to Betty's place to receive an high honour and he may now receive a lessor police award to circumvent the rules. So much so for rewarding bravery, true I realise he murdered a girl in his past, a heinous crime, but that should not detract from the fact he put himself in danger and was a large part of preventing further deaths and should be honour on par with the others involved. Though latest articles seem to now indicate that may change, I hope it does.

I knew a chap in the RAF who went on to very senior rank - AM. Along with each promotion seemed to come yet another appearance in the Honours List. The Officer in question was clearly a capable fellow, and dare I say, a really nice guy, but such a stream of awards was surely unnecessary.

Don't even start me upon sports 'personalities' and artistic luvvies. Thankfully there are still plenty of awards for ordinary people doing extraordinary things for society - long may such awards dominate the lists in terms of numbers if not publicity.

The general disdain for ‘artistic luvvies’ and sportspeople on this forum also baffles me.

I realise their exploits may not be to your taste or in a field you care much about. However, whether you agree or not their exploits bring a lot of pleasure to a great many people (much of it vicariously admittedly) and that is the point of the award.

The local person doing civic deeds is very deserving of an award but probably reaches far fewer people in reality.

Basically, however the system works you’ll never please everyone.

If you hand them out like candy you devalue them. If you make them too hard to get they become pointless. And some people will just never agree with most awards whatever the criteria.

BV

Public service employment will never come with the opportunity to make large bounds In pay increment and for a long time now part of ‘the deal’ is the a recognised path towards receiving honours and award of this nature. Where pay is not a lever ; gongs and status a viable tool. As many here have said many times before - it’s not all about the money. Recognition is formalised this way.