Post by son-of-tiny on Sept 28, 2007 23:56:35 GMT
Parade snub for Britain's returning soldiers
By Stephen Adams and Aislinn Simpson
www.telegraph.co.uk
Almost none of the thousands of British soldiers returning from war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan this autumn will be welcomed with a homecoming parade organised by their local council, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph has found.
Frontline: Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
Close to 13,000 troops are set to return from arduous and bloody six-month tours between now and November.
The head of the Army has appealed for local councils to organise homecoming parades as a mark of public appreciation.
However, no local authority out of more than a dozen contacted by The Daily Telegraph is organising one to cheer home those who have put their lives at risk.
Last Friday, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt asked: "How many councils have written to their local battalions to ask when they are coming back from Iraq and whether they can give them a homecoming parade? The answer, I fear, is not high."
That view was borne out yesterday when The Daily Telegraph contacted local authorities in areas containing large Army bases, such as Surrey, Wiltshire and Yorkshire.
Rather than extending their thanks to returning servicemen and women by contacting the units to organise a parade, almost all have taken a back seat and only offered support when the military has come to them.
advertisementOut of the 16 councils contacted by The Daily Telegraph yesterday, only two were aware of any plans for a homecoming parade. In both cases these were instigated by the returning regiment.
Yesterday Gerald Howarth, a shadow defence minister and MP for Aldershot, home to the Grenadier Guards, said: "Asking the military to do it is a bit like asking them to organise their own birthday party, it completely misses the point."
Through his own efforts, he has prompted Rushmoor borough council to put up five banners reading: "Aldershot welcomes home the Grenadier Guards" after he became concerned about the lack of preparations for their homecoming.
However, even Aldershot has no plans for a public parade. Dr Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the absence of any significant homecoming events was a damning indictment of the gulf between the British public and the country's Servicemen and women.
"This is a terrible indictment of a society that expects our troops to risk their lives in some of the most dangerous places in the world, but when they return can't be bothered to welcome them home," he said.
"We should be turning out in force to recognise the work they have done and the contribution they have made to Britain's security."
The scale of the homecoming is huge. Between now and the end of November the bulk of Britain's 5,500-strong force in Iraq, and 7,500-strong force in Afghanistan, will return home to be rotated with other units who will begin their tours.
The RAF navigator, John Nichol, shot down over Iraq during the first Gulf war, said: "When you come home from conflict, you want to know that people have supported what you do and you want to feel welcome."
But he feared people had become "immune" to homecomings because soldiers seem to return home "constantly". He said: "It's not through ignorance or ill-feeling that we don't celebrate their return.
"It's just because we have become immune to it."
Major Gen Patrick Cordingley, commander of the Desert Rats in the first Gulf war, said public events were critical to raising awareness of the job troops had done.
He said events might make the public "feel more inclined to throw their arms open wide to our Servicemen when they return from tours of duty."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "Anything that helps raise awareness and appreciation of what our troops have been doing is of course welcome but it is entirely a matter for councils."
The homecoming row yesterday threatened to overshadow the announcement by the Defence Secretary, Des Browne, to give all troops who pay council tax for a British property a £140 rebate for each six-month tour they serve in Afghanistan or Iraq.
It comes after a series of rows over the way British soldiers are treated by the Government and the public.
Earlier this month the Royal British Legion launched a campaign urging the Government to fix what it described as the "broken military covenant", arguing it has not held up its end of the bargain that soldiers make when they put their lives at risk.
The Government has also been under fire for providing poor accommodation for recruits and not properly recognising the contribution of those serving in dangerous areas.
Treatment of our soldiers is a disgrace
By Col Bob Stewart, who commanded British forces in Bosnia
Few councils across the country plan to celebrate the safe return from war of their local Army units.
Neither is any form of national commemoration planned for troops who have been more hard-pressed in Iraq and Afghanistan than any of our soldiers since the Korean War more than 50 years ago.
This contrasts markedly with the national parade given to soldiers, sailors and airmen after the Falklands war in 1982.
It even contrasts with the many Cheshire county marches and receptions given to my own small battalion of the Cheshire Regiment when we came back from Bosnia in 1993.
Yet with a few more fatalities the combined total of deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan operations will reach the 258 deaths we sustained in the Falklands.
Gen Sir Richard Dannatt is worried about this lack of public care for our Armed Forces and has said so publicly. As the professional Head of the Army he is right to be so.
Of course, our Armed Forces are fighting unpopular wars. But they are doing so because we, the people, through a government we elected, have sent them. In every sense they are "Our Boys".
Ten years ago, about the time I was leaving the Army, the reputation of our soldiers, sailors and airmen was sky high. There was huge support for what we were doing in Northern Ireland and Bosnia and had done in the first Gulf war.
Today, many in the public have a different yet dichotomous attitude. While they might still accept that our troops are among the best in the world, they do not support our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This translates directly into a loss of respect for servicemen.
On several occasions I have watched as normal people were clearly embarrassed by the presence of such young men and women. Shamefully, they appeared to avoid them. By contrast, soldiers in the United States are frequently cheered.
Our soldiers are doing our bidding and we as a society give them scant thanks for putting their lives on the line. Yesterday, the Government announced that soldiers on operations could expect a council tax rebate. It is insultingly small. Genuine thanks would be more appreciated.
Symbolic parades through crowded towns with commemoration services in churches may seem trite to some but it matters to soldiers and their families.
MPs and councillors may feel no great wish to commemorate service in Iraq and Afghanistan because there seem so few votes in it. Public opinion is hostile or at least apathetic about military activities there. Many people would prefer to forget the whole matter and get on with their safe lives. That is disgraceful.
Has our national soul gone missing? More than 250 families have now lost family members in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many more than that have had a loved one returned crippled for life.
Sir Richard should not have had to appeal for much greater support for our homecoming soldiers, sailors and airmen. We should at least have the grace to say thank you to them for doing such a rotten, lethal job on our behalf.
By Stephen Adams and Aislinn Simpson
www.telegraph.co.uk
Almost none of the thousands of British soldiers returning from war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan this autumn will be welcomed with a homecoming parade organised by their local council, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph has found.
Frontline: Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
Close to 13,000 troops are set to return from arduous and bloody six-month tours between now and November.
The head of the Army has appealed for local councils to organise homecoming parades as a mark of public appreciation.
However, no local authority out of more than a dozen contacted by The Daily Telegraph is organising one to cheer home those who have put their lives at risk.
Last Friday, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt asked: "How many councils have written to their local battalions to ask when they are coming back from Iraq and whether they can give them a homecoming parade? The answer, I fear, is not high."
That view was borne out yesterday when The Daily Telegraph contacted local authorities in areas containing large Army bases, such as Surrey, Wiltshire and Yorkshire.
Rather than extending their thanks to returning servicemen and women by contacting the units to organise a parade, almost all have taken a back seat and only offered support when the military has come to them.
advertisementOut of the 16 councils contacted by The Daily Telegraph yesterday, only two were aware of any plans for a homecoming parade. In both cases these were instigated by the returning regiment.
Yesterday Gerald Howarth, a shadow defence minister and MP for Aldershot, home to the Grenadier Guards, said: "Asking the military to do it is a bit like asking them to organise their own birthday party, it completely misses the point."
Through his own efforts, he has prompted Rushmoor borough council to put up five banners reading: "Aldershot welcomes home the Grenadier Guards" after he became concerned about the lack of preparations for their homecoming.
However, even Aldershot has no plans for a public parade. Dr Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the absence of any significant homecoming events was a damning indictment of the gulf between the British public and the country's Servicemen and women.
"This is a terrible indictment of a society that expects our troops to risk their lives in some of the most dangerous places in the world, but when they return can't be bothered to welcome them home," he said.
"We should be turning out in force to recognise the work they have done and the contribution they have made to Britain's security."
The scale of the homecoming is huge. Between now and the end of November the bulk of Britain's 5,500-strong force in Iraq, and 7,500-strong force in Afghanistan, will return home to be rotated with other units who will begin their tours.
The RAF navigator, John Nichol, shot down over Iraq during the first Gulf war, said: "When you come home from conflict, you want to know that people have supported what you do and you want to feel welcome."
But he feared people had become "immune" to homecomings because soldiers seem to return home "constantly". He said: "It's not through ignorance or ill-feeling that we don't celebrate their return.
"It's just because we have become immune to it."
Major Gen Patrick Cordingley, commander of the Desert Rats in the first Gulf war, said public events were critical to raising awareness of the job troops had done.
He said events might make the public "feel more inclined to throw their arms open wide to our Servicemen when they return from tours of duty."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "Anything that helps raise awareness and appreciation of what our troops have been doing is of course welcome but it is entirely a matter for councils."
The homecoming row yesterday threatened to overshadow the announcement by the Defence Secretary, Des Browne, to give all troops who pay council tax for a British property a £140 rebate for each six-month tour they serve in Afghanistan or Iraq.
It comes after a series of rows over the way British soldiers are treated by the Government and the public.
Earlier this month the Royal British Legion launched a campaign urging the Government to fix what it described as the "broken military covenant", arguing it has not held up its end of the bargain that soldiers make when they put their lives at risk.
The Government has also been under fire for providing poor accommodation for recruits and not properly recognising the contribution of those serving in dangerous areas.
Treatment of our soldiers is a disgrace
By Col Bob Stewart, who commanded British forces in Bosnia
Few councils across the country plan to celebrate the safe return from war of their local Army units.
Neither is any form of national commemoration planned for troops who have been more hard-pressed in Iraq and Afghanistan than any of our soldiers since the Korean War more than 50 years ago.
This contrasts markedly with the national parade given to soldiers, sailors and airmen after the Falklands war in 1982.
It even contrasts with the many Cheshire county marches and receptions given to my own small battalion of the Cheshire Regiment when we came back from Bosnia in 1993.
Yet with a few more fatalities the combined total of deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan operations will reach the 258 deaths we sustained in the Falklands.
Gen Sir Richard Dannatt is worried about this lack of public care for our Armed Forces and has said so publicly. As the professional Head of the Army he is right to be so.
Of course, our Armed Forces are fighting unpopular wars. But they are doing so because we, the people, through a government we elected, have sent them. In every sense they are "Our Boys".
Ten years ago, about the time I was leaving the Army, the reputation of our soldiers, sailors and airmen was sky high. There was huge support for what we were doing in Northern Ireland and Bosnia and had done in the first Gulf war.
Today, many in the public have a different yet dichotomous attitude. While they might still accept that our troops are among the best in the world, they do not support our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This translates directly into a loss of respect for servicemen.
On several occasions I have watched as normal people were clearly embarrassed by the presence of such young men and women. Shamefully, they appeared to avoid them. By contrast, soldiers in the United States are frequently cheered.
Our soldiers are doing our bidding and we as a society give them scant thanks for putting their lives on the line. Yesterday, the Government announced that soldiers on operations could expect a council tax rebate. It is insultingly small. Genuine thanks would be more appreciated.
Symbolic parades through crowded towns with commemoration services in churches may seem trite to some but it matters to soldiers and their families.
MPs and councillors may feel no great wish to commemorate service in Iraq and Afghanistan because there seem so few votes in it. Public opinion is hostile or at least apathetic about military activities there. Many people would prefer to forget the whole matter and get on with their safe lives. That is disgraceful.
Has our national soul gone missing? More than 250 families have now lost family members in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many more than that have had a loved one returned crippled for life.
Sir Richard should not have had to appeal for much greater support for our homecoming soldiers, sailors and airmen. We should at least have the grace to say thank you to them for doing such a rotten, lethal job on our behalf.