You may be interested in reading this petition and supporting it.
The recent
Forces Pension Society newsletter tells of an RPI/CPI e-petition which
has been established hoping to reverse the Government's decision to link
pension increases to CPI instead of RPI. The Government will debate
e-petitions that achieve 100,000 signatures, so please can you pass on
the following link to ex-servicemen that you know in the hope that
they'll sign it, as it affects all of us. The link is:
SCROOGE MoD officials have cancelled Christmas for our brave troops by BANNING
morale-boosting parties
Commanding officers at home and on the frontline have been ordered NOT
to spend their festive allowance on turkey dinners or carol concerts
They get £30 a year per soldier to splash out on spirit-raising events "such
as Junior Soldiers' Christmas Lunch", official guidance says.
But penny-pinching civil servants insist the cash must be spent on
something else this year because of last month's crippling defence cuts
The Ministry of Defence edict - leaked to The Sun - was written by Peter
Whitehead, deputy head of the MoD's Financial Management Policy and
Development.
It reads: "It is improper to spend taxpayers' funds on Christmas trees,
decorations, carol concerts or parties.
"Team-building or unit cohesiveness events during Christmas would be viewed by
taxpayers as partying at their expense and must be avoided."
It adds: "As always, we want to ensure that the Department does all it can to
avoid any adverse Parliamentary or media attention on this topic."
Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former Army CO, last night branded the decision
"cowardice".
He said: "At the stroke of a bureaucrat's pen, centuries of tradition have
been swept away for tommies and their officers.
"It is a nasty bit of penny-pinching - narrow-minded cowardice from people who
would never face the dangers that our fighting men and women have to. My
stomach is churning."
The ban is all the more shameful because the MoD has rung up a £38billion
debt through its own incompetence
More than 17,000 military jobs were axed in last month's review in the
toughest defence cuts in two decades.
Ships, aircraft carriers, tanks and the entire Harrier jump jet fleet were
also put on the scrapheap.
MoD officials last night insisted that special Christmas dinners will still be
laid on out of MoD funds for all troops serving in the Afghan badlands.
A ministry spokesman added: "The restriction placed on public funds is even
more necessary this year given the current financial situation."
Hi all. PLEASE can you all sign this petition
for soldiers pensions on the link below and pass
on to all of your friends and families. For
those of you who don't know Sgt Matty Telford
was killed 3rd Nov 2009 by a rogue Afghan
Policeman. Now you will all remember him from
the news as 'Sergeant' Matty Telford but
the army give his children his pension at
corporal rate because he was sergeant for less
than a year. The unfairness of this is that he
was promoted so he could do this job in Afghan
and had he not been promoted he would have been
doing a different job and may have been with us
today. After this petition was started it came
to light that this is happening to a lot of our
brave heroes families.
Please, give this a few minutes of your time - I think that it is important if not for you, then for your children and grandchildren Have a look at it then, if you agree with it, give some thought to signing up.
Asking
friends to watch Forever Young A song for Wootton Bassett is an
important way to raise awareness and recruit more people to National
Airplay for Forever Young: A song for Wootton Bassett so keep up the
great work and invite more friends to watch!
May God bless and keep you always May your wishes all come true May you always do for others And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung And may you stay forever young.
Chorus: Forever young, forever young May you stay forever young
May you grow up to be righteous May you grow up to be true May you always know the truth And see the light surrounding you.
May you always be courageous Stand up right and be as strong And may you stay forever young.
(chorus x2)
May your hands always be busy May your feet always be swift May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful May your song always be sung And may you stay forever
young.
(chorus x2)
May you grow up righteous and true, See the light surrounding you May you grow up righteous and true, See the light surrounding you May you ...(repeating) with (chorus)
August 15, 2010: The
U.S. Marine Corps is again threatened, this time with a sharp reduction in its
size. In response, marine commanders say they would prefer to be a smaller
force, one that concentrates on its main mission; amphibious operations. The
marines were unhappy with the way they have been used as an army auxiliary
over the past decade. The marines consider themselves specialists, while the
army are generalists (and, for example, carried out more amphibious operations
than the marines did during World War II). But by law (which specifies the
minimum size of the Corps, a law that could be changed) and determination (of
generations of marines), the marines have come to comprise a quarter of
America's ground combat forces. That's active duty, when you could the much
larger army reserve force, the marines are 18 percent of ground combat forces.
The marines never wanted to be just another part of American ground combat
forces.
The marines are also concerned with their relationship with the U.S. Navy,
which has now formed another ground combat force. To understand how this came
about, you have to understand the relationship between the navy and the
marines. The marines are not part of the navy, as they are often described.
Both the navy and marines are part of the Department of the Navy. The
Department of the Army and Department of the Air Force each have only one
component.
Over the years, the marines have acquired more and more autonomy from the
navy. When the U.S. Marine Corps was created, over two centuries ago, marines
were sailors trained and equipped to fight as infantry, and they were very
much part of the navy, and part of ship crews. This changed radically in the
late 19th century, when all-metal steam ships replaced wooden sailing ships.
The new "iron ships" really didn't need marines, and there were proposals to
eliminate them. In response, the American marines got organized and made
themselves useful in other ways. For example, the marines performed very well
as "State Department Troops" in Latin America for half a century (late 19th
century to just before World War II), where American troops were frequently
used to deal with civil disorder abroad, and nation building. During World War
I (1914-18), they provided a brigade for ground combat in Europe, where they
demonstrated exceptional combat skills.
During the 1930s, as World War II approached, the U.S. Marine Corps really
ran with the ball when the navy realized they would have to use amphibious
assaults to take heavily fortified Japanese islands in any future war. Thus,
once the U.S. entered World War II, the marines formed their first division
size units, and ended the war with six divisions, organized into two corps.
The Marine Corps was no longer just a minor part of the navy, but on its
way to being a fourth service. Over the next half century, it basically
achieved that goal. But in doing that, the navy lost control of its ground
troops. Navy amphibious ships still went to sea, with battalions of marines on
board. But because the marines are mainly an infantry force, and the war on
terror is basically an infantry scale battle, the marines spent a lot more
time working alongside the U.S. Army.
Thus, over the last five years, the new U.S. Navy has built a new ground
combat force, staffed by 40,000 sailors. This is NECC (Navy Expeditionary
Combat Command), which is capable of operating along the coast and up
rivers, as well as further inland. NECC units have served in Iraq, and are
ready to deploy anywhere else they are needed. The 1,200 sailors in the EOD
(Explosive Ordnance Disposal) teams are particularly sought after, because of
increased use of roadside bombs and booby traps by the enemy. NECC has also
organized three Riverine Squadrons, and these served in Iraq. NECC basically
consists of most of the combat support units the navy has traditionally put
ashore, plus some coastal and river patrol units that have usually only been
organized in wartime.
This new navy organization, and the strategy goes with it, still comes as a
surprise to many people, especially many of those in Congress who were asked
to pay for it. It came as a surprise to many NECC sailors as well. The navy
even called on the marines to provide infantry instructors for the few
thousand sailors assigned to riverine (armed patrol boat) units. The navy
already had infantry training courses for Seabees (naval construction
personnel) and members of EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) teams. Now it's
combining all that in the new Expeditionary Combat Skills (ECS) course, which
will be conducted at a base in Mississippi.
With the marines appropriated by the army for land combat, the navy still
wanted and needed land forces. So the navy has created NECC. The navy still
considers the marines its primary "infantry force", but the NECC will contain
sailors trained and equipped for land operations the navy believes it should
be involved in. Some of these are still on the water, like "riverine
operations" (small gunboats and troop carriers to control rivers and coastal
waters against irregulars), and "naval infantry" to defend navy land bases in
hostile territory.
The U.S. Marine Corps has mixed feelings about NECC, for the marines have
long been the navy's ground combat troops. The navy says that the USMC mission
will remain. Thus the marines want to shrink so they become small enough to
handle anticipated navy amphibious operations, and not large enough to have
troops available for large scale support of army operations.
In effect, the American marines want to be more like the British marines.
That's interesting, because British marines are called Royal Marine Commandos,
and are quite different. Britain, which invented the modern concept of the
commando, disbanded it's ten army commando's (as the battalion size commando
units were called) at the end of World War II. The Royal Marines,
however, saw the commando concepts as a welcome addition to their own
amphibious doctrine and retained three of their nine Royal Marine Commandos.
Since World War II, the Royal Marines have maintained at least three commando
battalions (called commandos, instead of battalions.) Artillery and engineer
units are supplied by the army.
Like the U.S. Marines, the Royal Marines realized that assault from the sea
was always a commando like operation, requiring special training, bold
leadership and an aggressive spirit. The Royal Marines, like their American
counterparts, continued to innovate. In 1956, it was a Royal Marine Commando
that launched the first helicopter assault from ships against a land target
(during the invasion of Egypt). The Royal Marine Commandos were used
extensively to keep the peace in Ireland during the 1970s and 80s. In 1982, it
was two Royal Marine Commandos and one parachute battalion that did most of
the fighting to retake the Falkland Islands from Argentina. The Royal Marines
have performed peacekeeping duty in the Balkans and Africa, and served as an
amphibious fast reaction force.
While the U.S. Marines made a name for themselves with multi-division
amphibious operations in the Pacific during World War II, the Royal Marines
stuck with the commando type operations that characterize what marines spend
most of the time doing between major wars. Remember, the last large scale
amphibious operation took place sixty years ago (Inchon, Korea in 1950). Since
then, the typical marine mission has been a quick assault using a small
(usually battalion size) force.
In anticipation of this, the U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command
(MARSOC) was created over the last few years. In that time, it has sent some
of its 2,400 personnel on over thirty deployments (in South America, the
Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia). MARSOC
is organized into a headquarters, a two battalion Special Operations Regiment,
a Foreign Military Training Unit, and a Marine Special Operations Support
Group. There are 3-4 Special Operations companies in each battalion. The
marines basically lost two of their four Force Recon companies (one of them a
reserve unit) in order to build MARSOC. Meanwhile, more troops have been added
to division level reconnaissance units, to take up some of that slack. The
Special Operations companies (with about 120 personnel each) can provide Force
Recon capabilities to marine units they are attached to. The two Special
Operations Battalions provide a combination of services roughly equal to what
the U.S. Army Special Forces and Rangers do, as well as some of the functions
of the Force Recon units. Eventually, there are to be nine companies in the
two Special Operations Battalion.
All the other services, except the marines, contributed to the formation of
SOCOM (Special Operations Command) in the late 1980s. The marines finally got
around to working with SOCOM in 2005, when it was agreed that they would
create a marine special operations command (MARSOC). The Marine Corps had long
resisted such a step, largely because of its belief that marines are
inherently superior warriors, capable of highly specialized missions. This
attitude began to change during the fighting in Afghanistan, when marines were
assigned to support SOCOM troops there.
As a result of that experience, marines were attached to SOCOM for
liaison and observation purposes. In 2004, the marines organized a company
sized unit of commandos, "Detachment One", using volunteers from their Force
Recon troops, the closest thing the marines had to commandos. Detachment One
was sent to Iraq, where it's performance convinced SOCOM that marines could
operate at the SOCOM level.
The marines see their future as a smaller (by a up to a third, or more),
even more elite, force, and better equipped force. The marines want to get
back to sea, and the reduction in force (RIF) can be done without
losing a lot of the valuable combat experience the marines have gained in
the last nine years. Recruiting will be reduced for a few years, and some
marines can transfer to the navy (in jobs that both sailors and marines
handle), especially the NECC force. Marines have long moved over to the army,
and the army would be glad to get an infusion of combat experienced marines,
especially NCOs and officers. The marines may also expand their reserve force,
and marines who decide to get out, can simply move over to the reserves.
The marines who remain with the Corps will probably continue the more
extensive training marines have been getting for several decades now. This
makes the marines an even more elite force, which is what many marines are
fine with. http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htamph/articles/20100815.aspx
Foxnwolf comments;
Why does the UK & US governments want to "shaft" their Marine Corp ???
You may have either seen or heard of the discussions in the
UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and UK press concerning a likely UK Army
initiated suggestion for UK defence budget cuts, which would involve disbanding
the Royal Marines in its current and 300+ year old traditional form as part of
the Royal Navy, and making the Royal Marines be made part of the UK Army; as
part of a special warfare element comprising the UK parachute Regiment and the
Royal Marines.
When this sort of loose and very dangerous talk is going
around MOD things tend to stick unless more informed opinion and facts are
brought into play. In that regard, I thought the Commandant General Royal
Marines recent speech to the Royal United Services Institute in London should
get wide distribution as it so eloquently and succinctly expresses the extreme
value UK defence gets from the Royal Marines, and has done throughout the
ages. Most grateful if you could pass this on widely through USMC circles
as a cry for help from one Marine to another.
Letter from CGRM; 7th July 2010
“WHAT LESSONS FROM TODAY'S OPERATIONS ARE
SHAPING CAPABILITY IN THE FUTURE?"
Mark Twain described history as ‘a huge Mississippi of
falsehood’ - nevertheless I reflect on the fact that:
Yesterday marked the 22nd anniversary (6th july 1088) of
the Piper Alpha oil rig explosion, to which the Royal Navy was amongst the
first to respond, in the guise of HMS PHOEBE and BLACKWATER
Today, in 1932, marked the nadir of the Dow Jones Index
– during the maelstrom of the Great Depression
We currently grapple with the consequences of the
sinking of the DEEP WATER HORIZON - together with a global recession whose full
implications are yet to be realised - not least for an island nation state so
dependent on international trade
All of which suggests that there perhaps really is‘nothing new under the sun, only history you
didn’t know about’ – something to reflect upon when envisaging radical
change to time proven capabilities in James Bergeron’s ‘Transitional Age’,
where the new rules are poorly understood
Today also happens to be the anniversary of a
maritime culinary revolution – in 1862, the ‘sea trials’ began of dried potatoes
- brackets sliced - and dried meat -brackets
– ground – so eat your heart out Jamie Oliver - the spirit of innovation in the
Fleet leaves you astern by a century and a half.It’s not just the Army which marches on its
stomach!
[Slide
– Significance of Littoral]
Analysis presented in
the Future
Character of Conflict work coincident with the Defence Green Paper as well as the
Foreign Secretary’s remarks, dissected yesterday by Christopher Meyer, indicates
that an effective player in the complex; congested,
contested cluttered, constrained and connected security environment of the
future -must be able to influence through global reach; create time and space for
political engagement, and offer scalable capability – from diplomatic to kinetic,
to enable and to preserve the maximum range of strategic choices, for as long
as possible.
The Secretary of State reaffirmed, here, on
the 14th June, that the primary mission of the Armed Forces is the
application of lethal force.
But Littoral Manoeuvre – a concept which
encompasses Amphibious and Maritime Strike Operations - is distinguished by its rheostatic
nature.It is scaleable, flexible and
agile – even chameleon in character – it can be employed as a precise and
responsive instrument to support our Foreign and Security policy.
Fundamentally it is about manoeuvre not
attrition nimbleness not mass adaptability not fixity discrimination not
prescription It offers presence.
The ability to poise; to influence; to apply ‘force on mind’ through a judiciously
calibrated posture – without occupation; to deter and coerce without
commitment.It can PREVENT in the widest
sense, whether by direct involvement; by facilitating the business of Other Government
Departments, or as a visible, powerful symbol of UK interest.
And,
if needs be, it can, as a brigade Theatre Entry Force … smash down the door…albeit elegantly, and mindful of the
implications of Feng Shui!
The utility of this instrument is writ large
through the 29 deployments involving either specialist amphibious shipping
and/or the Landing Force, over the past 10 years, applying a carefully
calibrated blend of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power across the globe.
72.5% of the Royal Marines is deployable and 64%
will deploy or be at high readiness to deploy over the next 24 months; others
are committed to protecting the nuclear deterrent, SFSG and the Band Service.
70 % of the RMR has deployed for 6 months on Operations since 2003.
Acknowledging the current gaps arising from the
HERRICK Main Effort, we retain the fundamental capabilities to deliver a Theatre
Entry effect independent of Access, Basing and Overflight limitations.
That’s
the ‘How’ – now the ‘What’
We have an Amphibious Fleet in being comprising of 1 x
LPH, 2 x LPDs and 4 x LSDAs.These
assets have a mean age of only 7 years. They cost £1.3Bn to procure and they are
projected to remain in service beyond 2032.
They can manoeuvre to outflank and strike, with
strategic agility, over 300 nautical miles, in 24 hours.
The Landing Force - 3 Commando Brigade - has the
capacity to land 2 Commando Groups
ashore in one cycle of darkness, from over the horizon, up to sea state 4, with
a first assault wave of 500 men hitting the target simultaneously in a four
Company Group lift, two by surface and two by air.
I thought I might now use
a couple of vignettes from last year, and the present, to demonstrate the
utility of this construct - this joint amphibious team:
Starting with mydeployable 2* Headquarters, which has been
committed on operations for 51% of its 8 year life.
Based on staff of about
50, this HQ has now deployed as a Maritime, Land, National and Amphibious
Component Command.
Last
year it deployed to Iraq
as the last UK
divisional headquarters, to set the conditions for, and to orchestrate the
TELIC drawdown and transfer of authority to the Iraqi Army – an undertaking
which was distinguished by its focus on Iraqi needs and its cultural sensitivity.
3 Commando Brigade was engaged at the outset of the TELIC campaign –
conducting an opposed amphibious helicopter assault onto the Al Faw peninsula ahead
of the main attack.So first in - and
last out …
40 Commando deployed for
6 months, as an Amphibious Ready Group on Exercise TAURUS, developing
contingent capability toward BSSFI .
It trained, exercised,
and engaged with Malta, Turkey, Greece/Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
The Maldives, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia,
Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei. Countries of significant importance to the UK
– either by virtue of their priority in CT terms, as part of our wider regional
engagement strategy and trading interests; or their utility to the UK for training
purposes.
Partneringis maritime core business – it is
braided throughout the Royal Navy’s 500 year history.
The ARG’s activities
ranged from the largest scale UK/Saudi Arabia exercise since Operation GRANBY,
in 1991, through to individual small boat training in Yemen, and joint multi-agency planning exercises
in Bangladesh.
HMS ALBION delivered capacity
building training to the Nigerian Navy enhancing the security operations in the
Delta not least to the benefit of UK citizens working in the oil
industry. Continuation training was delivered earlier this year by 1 Assault
Squadron Royal Marines.
Throughout the entire period of TAURUS 40 Commando
remained poised as the UK’s
high readiness reaction force.
Meanwhile the bulk of the Brigade was engaged in Helmand. The rigours of this campaign are well understood.It places immense demands on our people,
their individual judgement, determination, resilience, courage and
discrimination.It requires every Marine
to be his own general.The Corps has
been committed to HERRICKs 5, 7, 9, 12 (and soon, 14) … and in the case of the
Armoured Support Group, many, and
the SBS, all in between.
These have been ‘hard yards’, the butcher’s bill
makes grim reading - pro rata, Lovat warriors have sustained over 2.5 times
both the fatal casualties and the grievously wounded of our Khaki comrades.
But the ability to cope and flourish amidst
complexity and uncertainty – together with familiarity with a joint and
inter-agency approach, bred through training in the amphibious environment, has
equipped us well for the demands of such messy wars amongst the people. This
willingness to adjust, to endure and to seek understanding is a hallmark of our
people, and a theme to which I will return.
This
year, my 2* Staff, having re-roled as a Maritime Component
Command through Ex COLD RESPONSE, now forms the core of the EUNAVFOR
Operational Headquarters, running the Counter Piracy Operation off the coast of
Somalia.27 Nations collaborating with
NATO and Coalition Maritime Forces to safeguard the Global Commons.Twenty percent of the world’s trade passes
through the Babel Mendeb …one LPG tanker every two days en route to Milford
Haven – without which the lights of the United Kingdom would within days
start to dim.
I have already touched upon 40 Commando and HERRICK
12 – they have been much in the press of late, holding the ring in Sangin.I will not labour this except to say that they
are seamlessly integrated into the US command structure.There have been many references in this
conference, to our relationship with the United States … Special or
otherwise – and its importance.But our
relationship with the United States Marine Corps – the acme of American
military excellence – is genuinely a special
one:Marine to Marine – even brother to
brother, which transcends nationality. A link which I would suggest provides
disproportionate leverage to the UK.
Meanwhile, as Peter [RAdm Peter Hudson RN, COMUKMARFOR] has said, a sizeable chunk of
the Brigade Landing Force is embarked and participating in an Amphibious and
Carrier Strike exercise – AURIGA – integrated again with US forces – building
on Exercises TAURUS, COLD RESPONSE
and foreshadowing COUGAR next year, to regenerate contingent capability.
One Maritime Force,
consisting of two Task Groups, separable but not separate,
providing:Contingent, Expeditionary, Scaleable, Independent,
Organic, Flexible, Balanced and potentially Forward Deployed forces.
So what of the future?
For this maritime force to integrate fully, our
surface assault capabilities must have speed and reach, enhancing further our
ability to manoeuvre and negate an adversary’s access denial (A2D2) capabilities.The acquisition of the triad of genuine, fast
Over the Horizon assault craft between 2016-19, is a priority.
30 Commando IX Group is unique, and is the modem for
the 3 Commando Brigade’s precision effect.It is key to its UNDERSTAND and DISCRIMINATE functions.It comprises 20% of the UK’s Tactical SIGINT.It has established excellent relationships
with other Intelligence Agencies.As a
model of best practice, we should continue to invest in it and to evolve its
ISTAR capabilities.
I have neglected so far to mention several of the Defence
Lines of Development which underpin the future of the LitM capability. Training
is one: Lympstone – the centre which provides all of this: training the airmen,
sailors, marines and soldiers – the many, many soldiers, who lean into this
Commando challenge. Lympstone, of the 12 training organisations scrutinised by
OFSTED last year, was cited as the very clear exemplar in terms of
effectiveness and efficiency.
In conclusion though and tying the past, present
and future together, I would focus briefly on the people engaged in this
activity. The moral component – the why
we fight: the single most important factor.
The FCOC Paper states
that ‘the future agile force favours the capability of people (physical and mental robustness, flexibility
and a premium on training) over platform numbers.’
The activities I have
described are undertaken by extraordinarily high-calibre people.
The Boys and girls are Bright:
Forty percent of Royal
Marine recruits are educationally qualified to be officers. Over 10% have
university degrees. Two currently in training have Masters Degrees and when I
was running the Commando Wing fifteen years ago, two fully qualified vets
joined up – we only discovered this when none of their respective troops
visited the Sickbay because they were being ‘physicked’ with Horse Drench and
Saddle Liniment.
I visited 539 Assault
Squadron in Plymouth
a month ago and talked to a group of coxswains who were about to conduct a long
navigation exercise in Off Shore Raiding Craft to the Scilly Isles.One Marine looked older than the rest and I
asked him what his background was.He
explained that he had joined the Corps late and had, to use his word, ‘wasted’
some time working at the ‘Hadron Collider’ – smashing atoms - as a Professor of
Sub-Atomic Particle Physics.I told him
not to smash my boat up!
Fifty percent of my
officers finish in the top ten percent at the JointStaffCollege. That said, we
have the lowest ratio of Officers to other ranks in the 3 Services.
No, the Boys are Resilient, indeed I can reassure Julian [Professor
Julian Lindley French, Eisenhower Professor of Defence
Strategy, Royal Netherlands Defence
Academy], that footballers aside,
Tommy Atkins has not become soft - 3 weeks into 40 Commando’s recent
tour Sergeant Lee Walters was caught up in an intense fire fight and was shot
in the neck, the hand and the foot.He
refused to be listed, and sitting up in bed, informed his anxious wife of his
misfortunes himself.Incidentally, on
HERRICK 5, Sgt Walters engaged in another battle, on a pitch-black night, fell
down a well.Which his Mates thought –
3,000 miles from the sea- was taking a commitment to amphibious operations a
bit too far.
Three weeks ago Captain
John White, OC Recce Troop, 40 Commando was blown up on patrol.Barely conscious, having lost both his legs
and one of his arms, he sought to reassure his anxious Marines as they loaded
his stretcher onto the MEDEVAC flight.“Don’t
worry Boys, ‘gold’ in the Para Olympics Next!”
The Corps numbers 3% of the manpower of Defence, but
constitutes 37% of the badged
manpower of UK Special Forces.
And Finally – my Boys
are Imaginative and Innovative - One example:
The week I became
Commandant General, Recruit Phillip Cain, 6 weeks into training contracted
Meningitis, despite repeated multiple amputations to stem the spread of the
disease, he very quickly died.His young
and still inexperienced Troop were adamant that they would carry his coffin at
his military funeral and were issued with Regimental Blues four months early to
do so with exemplary precision and self-control. At the 7 month point, they
duly completed their four Commando Tests and were, in time honoured tradition,
given their green berets at the end of the 30 Mile March on Dartmoor.Philip Cain’s father was there too and
received a piece of precious green felt from Prince Michael of Kent … for in
spirit and soul his boy was also a proud Commando Soldier, since his Mates, on
their own initiative, had carried his ashes throughout.
I would suggest that whatever the future may hold, precious DNA such as this, will be of value to
Her Majesty’s Government.
In 1803, Napoleon
remarked of the Corps: ‘How much might be done with a hundred thousand
soldiers such as these’
From... John Doe............................................
Has heard that the government, alarmed at the cost of police pensions,
wants to depart from existing arrangements.
They propose that new
entrants have to work for 40 years and will be on different pension
programmes to that of existing officers. I suppose you can argue that
it's up to individuals if they want to sign up to that.
More worrying
for my friend is a proposal to freeze existing contributions. I'm not
sure how this works but he says that the last two or three years of
service is when your pension value starts to rise. If this is
'frozen', and his '30' is up in 2012, he stands to lose quite a bit of
his promised commutation.
He is very worried. I would imagine that
these proposals would be appealed for years and that John Doe would likely
be out before conclusion. There's nothing about any changes to
existing pensioners.
Years back, John Doe proposed that they offer 'final
lump sums' to folks like us. It would buy us off forever and, from my
point of view, would provide a useful sum to invest. I bet they now
wish they had listened!
