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View Full Version : What do members think about the British armed forces?



gary d
28-06-2011, 21:42
what do people think of our armed forces?in my opinion they are stretched to the limit doing a dangerous job for little reward.we are now out of iraq and if i remember correctly all our troops to be out of afghanistan by 2014.we now have troops under the nato banner in libya,they will soon move on to other middle eastern country and through all this families are losing loved ones for what??i dont think the war in afghan will be won so why not just pull out now.i always wanted to join the army but wasnt allowed in on medical grounds.my daughter starts her training in september so she has made me so proud(passed selection on my birthday)and although i dont want her to be away from home there is no place i feel more proud to say where she is or what she is doing

with cheese
28-06-2011, 21:57
Good Luck to your Daughter. I think if our forces personnell are killed on active duty it is very sad but we must remember they die for the career they chose.
99.9% Of forces greats choose the job because it is what they want not because of no other choice. Most people do not agree with action abroad, but we do need an active force.
If we had an attack on our land at least we would have experienced active persons to fight it.
No they are not treated right and that is because the MP's for years (all parties) have wanted to run the forces down. They love to fire the 3mil missile but don't want to pay for the guy with 12 rounds left. They love to show the royals off in a Heli, but don't want a carrier to protect the bloody things.
If a person dies do a job they love, don't feel sorry, feel proud.

We should be do us all and our forces a favour by turfing out the bad eggs in this country, especially the hunters, and trainers.

Medman
28-06-2011, 22:50
I have the utmost respect and admiration for our troops and I do believe that Afganistan is our Vietnam and we will never suceed in our mission (whatever that may be)
Yes, it's a chosen career, but a very brave choice with potentially the ultimate sacrifice as a reward. I agree it appears to me that they are under funded, under equipped and under protected in a hostile environment.
I always have a lump in my throat every time I hear of a fatality or serious injury. It seems such a waste of quality human beings.
I'm not from military background, although my dad was in the artillery during WW2 so I am no expert, but I am a compassionate, grateful human being that is still proud to be British.
Gary D : you should be proud of your daughter and God speed.

TenerifeTeddy
28-06-2011, 23:02
I served in the RAF for 22 years, leaving in 1998, not because I wanted to, I loved my job, but because successive defence cuts even back then had meant we were overstretched with ever more deployments and ever less resources. And that was before we had even entered Afghanistan.

From the early 90´s successive governments gutted the armed forces determined to recoup as much money as possible from the “peace dividend” following the demise of the Soviet Union. Ok, so perhaps we don’t now need the massive armoured columns that were required to defend Western Europe, but we do still need boots on the ground!

Instead what has happened? When I joined the RAF in 1976 there were 93.500 of us, The Army had 140,000 and the navy 50,000 as well as 50+ major surface ships.
Today there are less than 40,000 in the RAF, less than 100,000 in the army and about 30,000 in the navy. Yet the government of the day still wants Britain to be a major force for good in the world. Yet how can we project power without the planes, ships or men to do the job.

All that happens is that less servicemen do more deployments for longer periods with less time between deployments when they get back. The equipment they use gets worn out, or not replaced, or is not of the correct type or the best it can be, as a consequence of which more casualties are suffered than actually need occur, if the forces that were deployed were fully and properly equipped and backed up.

I remember our guys being deployed in the first Persian Gulf War in Jungle pattern DPM´s. because there wasn´t enough desert camouflage gear to go round. , And whole tank regiments in Germany were gutted for spares for the tanks deployed in the Gulf.

There were numerous stories in my time, and the most disappointing thing is those stories still occur today. How can we still have not learned lessons about not equipping our troops correctly.

You don´t hear the guys on the ground complaining, they just get on with the job with the equipment they have available. They do a remarkable job often in horrendous condtions and I have all the respect in the world for them.

One thing that has happened in recent years which is much better than in my time is the support given to injured and maimed servicemen. There is a much better recognition of the need to rehabilitate those that have been hurt in the line of duty and to support the families of those killed.