A Broken Promise Too Far

Mother of soldier killed in Afghanistan criticises Gordon Brown letter

A mother who received a promise from Gordon Brown that he would look into her son’s death in Afghanistan said she had been fobbed off with a standard letter and a copy of the Labour Party manifesto.

That is the headline to this article.

Gordon Brown promised so much when he became the dictator, sorry Prime Minister, but he has broken so many promises that we never believe what he says, but this broken promise can't ever be forgiven or forgotten.

An extract;

Ann Probyn asked Mr Brown to investigate the circumstances of the death of her son, Guardsman Daniel Probyn, when she appeared on BBC One’s Politics Show seven weeks ago.

She said her son had been killed by a Taliban bomb in 2007 after his patrol was sent out without electronic equipment designed to protect against such devices.

Appearing again on the programme yesterday, she tackled David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, over the lack of response from Mr Brown. “Your leader promised to look into the events of my son’s death,” she said. “I was given a card, I phoned this number, and for seven weeks I haven’t heard anything.

“They just sent me this through – the manifesto, and just a normal formality letter. Why should I vote Labour when they are not doing anything to help me?”

It is common knowledge that, as chancellor, Gordon Brown starved the military of funds and equipment. Just how many of our soldiers lives has that cost in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Now we have a situation where Gordon Brown promised to look into the death of Guardsman Daniel Probyn, and what does the mother receive, she is sent the Labour party manifesto. How insensitive is that?

Gordon Brown can say what he likes on the election campaign, because we don't believe what he says anyhow, but don't fob off a mother of one of our honoured dead and send her a manifesto.

She, and all of the families of our honoured dead deserves to know how and why their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers have been killed and injured.

I haven't got any family or friends out in Afghanistan, but I feel just as passionate about what is happening to our boys and girls out there.

Gordon Brown, as well as Tony Blair, should be taken before a court to answer why they sent our military into 2 wars without the proper equipment.

I want them to explain why there wasn't enough helicopters, better armoured vehicles, better equipment in general. The equipment the troops have seems to of been bought because it was the cheapest.

While the troops are getting sub standard equipment the civil servants at the MOD get bonuses. How screwed up is that?

The Military Covenant should of been an unbreakable promise, but it has been broken by Labour.

Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Labour should never be given the chance to have any control over our military ever again.

They have treated them and their families with utter disrespect, and that can never be forgiven ever.

The Military Covenant

The Military Covenant

The Military Covenant is the mutual obligation between the Nation, the Army and each individual soldier; an unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility which has sustained the Army throughout its history.

Soldiers will be called upon to make personal sacrifices - including the ultimate sacrifice - in the service of the Nation. In putting the needs of the Nation and the Army before their own, they forego some of the rights enjoyed by those outside the Armed Forces. In return, British soldiers must always be able to expect fair treatment, to be valued and respected as individuals, and that they (and their families) will be sustained and rewarded by commensurate terms and conditions of service.

In the same way the unique nature of military land operations means that the Army differs from all other institutions, and must be sustained and provided for accordingly by the Nation. This mutual obligation forms the Military Covenant between the Nation, the Army and each individual soldier; an unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility which has sustained the Army throughout its history.

It has perhaps its greatest manifestation in the annual commemoration of Armistice Day, when the Nation keeps covenant with those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in action.

The above is taken from http://www.army.mod.uk/join/terms/3111.aspx

The Royal British Legion has launched a campaign about the Military Covenant

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/campaigning/the-legion-manifesto/honour-the-covenant

THE MILITARY COVENANT MUST BE HONOURED

'Outrage over controversial Islamic group's plan to march through Wootton Bassett'

That is the headline from this article in the telegraph

Now i will try and stay calm while writing this.

Wootton Basset is a town whose people are doing what everyone in the country would do, by paying our respects to our honoured dead.

I'm sure everyone would agree that they would be doing exactly what the people of Wootton Basset are doing, by lining the streets and pay their respects to our fallen, if they came through their town.

If this islamic group do march through Wootton Basset they would, in my opinion, be at the very least disrespecting our honoured dead, and the thought of that makes me, and probably the whole country, very upset.

It shouldn't matter if you are for or against the war, those lads and lasses are our brothers, sisters, fathers, sons and daughters. It doesn't matter if you aren't related to anyone out there, they are still our brothers and sisters fighting for their country.

This march cannot be allowed to go ahead, not just because of all the hurt it may cause, but because the far right would most probably turn up as well, and then you will have what will become a dangerous situation. I would not want that to happen in Wootton Basset

The community of Wootton Basset has shown great patriotism that the whole country feels for our lads and lasses, and i would hate for anything to happen there if this group do march there.

The march by this islamic group must not be allowed to go ahead.

I was Wondering

I was watching the news earlier and i was watching an article about the BA strike action and i noticed the union emblem.

Why is the BASSA union, which is part of the Unite union, using as it's emblem a classic WWII picture from the Battle of IWO JIMA?

See Below;

Picture taken from the Unite Union website.

Spot the difference?

Picture taken from Freeinfosociety.com

Notice the difference?
Not much if you ask me.

Is it right that a union is recreating a picture where soldiers lost their lives?

Is the union saying that they will put their lives on the line for their members?

In my opinion it is an insult to the people who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima that a union would recreate this picture.

Where has all our Freedom Gone?

The headline below is in the Daily Telegraph today.
(See Link)

'Every phone call, email and internet click stored by 'state spying' databases'

In the week where we Remember the Honoured Dead who gave their lives in both World Wars, and the conflicts since, to give us freedom from dictatorships and to go about our business freely we find out the government is introducing this.

Here is part of the article;

Despite widespread opposition over Britain's growing surveillance society, 653 public bodies will be given access to the confidential information, including police, local councils, the Financial Services Authority, the Ambulance Service, fire authorities and even prison governors.

They will not require the permission of a judge or a magistrate to access the information, but simply the authorisation of a senior police officer or the equivalent of a deputy head of department at a local authority.

Now I realise there has to be a certain amount of security for the safety of the nation, but to let this information available to any department head in a local council is beyond a joke.

Now people will say if you haven't done anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. Yes, but people should be able to email, chat on the phone, sell things on Ebay, buy things at an internet shopping site etc, without worrying about if the information is being checked by the department head of refuge in your local council.

We already have local councils using anti terror legislation to check if people are living in catchment areas for schools, no we have this.

What did all those people die for, in both World Wars, just to see the freedom that they died for be taken away by what is fast becoming like the old East German stasi government, where you say one wrong word and you were never seen again.

If all this information was just available to the security services, like MI5, and maybe high national government i wouldn't be that worried about it, but to give just about anyone in government, national and local, permission to look at the data with out a court order is very, very worrying.

I fear for My Country. I fear what else is coming we don't know about yet.

We have to wait and see.

Bodycare UK 'bans Remembrance Day poppies'

That is the news headline in the Telegraph.

(See Link)

A spokesman for Bodycare’s parent company, GR and MM Blackledge, said: "Employees are only allowed to wear their uniform, and charitable pins would not be considered part of the uniform.”

The spokesman said the company did not differentiate between charities, having decided to ban all wristbands and charity emblems.

Is this spokesman a brainless idiot who just recites company policy.

Does this spokesman have any form of common sense?

Does this spokesman realise what sacrifice the soldiers of both world wars and who have died since?

Does this spokesman know what sacrifice really is, or is his idea of sacrifice, for example missing lunch, working late, missing a football match because he has to work.

I hope this guy, and the company, finds out how stupid they are. I hope people boycott this company until they change their minds on their employees wearing poppies.

The poppy is our way of showing the men and women of our armed forces, past and present, that we honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

If i ever meet this spokesman for Bodycare, i will take him to the nearest Royal British Legion and ask him to tell the old soldiers why no one in his company is allowed to wear a poppy.

Brothers in Arms Right to the End

I don't think i can add anything to this article.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6847289.ece

The Bravery and Comradeship of our soldiers should be an inspiration to us all.

A Fitting Memorial

I have been watching and listening about what is happening in Afghanistan, and i do have mixed emotions about the conflict.

I do agree that it was right to go to Afghanistan and depose the Taliban regime.

I don't like what our soldiers have to do out there with the limited equipment and numbers. If you are sending the military out to a war zone then equip them with everything they need to complete the mission.

Sending them out there without enough armoured personnel carriers, tanks, planes, helicopters etc is asking them to put their life on the line unnecessarily.

Yes soldiers do get injured, and killed, but they have a better chance of survival if they can be airlifted by helicopter to a proper medical facility, but they haven't got enough helicopters to do this.

I believe that a cause to the amount of soldiers killed is due to the fact that they weren't airlifted out quick enough.

I believe we have to see it out to the end, because we can't let all the blood that has been spilt by our military be in vain. We can't let the Taliban just walk back in and take over where they left off.

It wouldn't be right for all the people who have died out there, all those lives lost for nothing. It would be very, very hard to live with that.

I am very, very proud of our guys, and girls, out there.

I am proud at how they get on with the job, no matter what equipment they have or haven't got.

The meaning behind the title of this blog.

When all this is over I would love, as a fitting memorial, to have all the names of the military personnel who have lost their lives in both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts to be put up so the British public can remember the sacrifice they have made.

I know we already have cenotaphs with all the Honoured Dead from the 2 Worlds Wars, but i believe we should have a separate memorial to the Honoured Dead from the two conflicts.

Another reason for the memorial, in my opinion, is if any politician wants to send our military to a conflict I want them to read every single name on that memorial to understand the cost in lives that can happen when sending our military out to a conflict zone.