Military Covenant Commission reveals interim conclusions

The Military Covenant Commission set up by David Cameron last March has announced its interim findings this afternoon. Liam Fox MP was joined by Chairman of the Commission Frederick Forsyth, and Simon Weston and Andrew Murrison MP in CCHQ this afternoon. Download a copy of the report here.

Here are the key points that came out of the report and press conference:

The Military Covenant should be clearly established and written into tri-service doctrine (as opposed to just the army's charter).

There should be a Strategic Defence Review about every four years. Fox criticised the Government for not having one since 1998, and therefore for basing its response to the new strategic environment on old assumptions.

Inquests have repeatedly pointed to inadequate provision of basic equipment. Forsyth estimated that fifty or sixty deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan could be attributed to "crap equipment". Injured soldiers (and NHS professionals) should be aware of their right to priority treatment.

Des Browne as Secretary of State for Defence should be full-time, and the minister for veterans and personnel should be a Minister of State.

Public shows of support for members of the Armed Forces and veterans should be encouraged with corporate and civic sponsorship. Simon Weston said that the public engaged with the military more positively during the troubles in Northern Ireland because the fighting was closer to home than the wards in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wearing of uniforms in public more would help with the disconnect between society and military. 

Schools Presentation Teams should be reinstated so that children understand the military. We asked if they would consider ambitious plans for the expansion of cadet forces in state schools (as it would help address the three key issues of broken society, military covenant, and recruitment). The panel said it should be strongly considered and that the Government has started a pilot project on this which Cameron has supported. They rightly said they deplored the attitude of the National Union of Teachers towards the military, and Fox criticised Quentin Davies' government report for the serious omission of not consulting the NUT about it.

Exit rates for officers have increased every year for five years. More people are leaving the reserve forces than are joining. Overstretch may require some retasking. Leave should start once soldiers have actually managed to get home. The intervals between operational tours are often shorter than recommended.

Families who relocate due to military commitments should keep their places on waiting/dental lists. The idea of a pupil premium to help school children from disadvantaged backgrounds should reflect the needs of service children who tend to underperform in education.

All of the questions from journalists were about costings. They wanted to know whether they would "spend more or do less". Forsyth said that he had no mandate to suggest where the required money came from but he did refer to the "deplorable litanies of waste" at the MOD. Fox said many of the recommendations didn't require investment and that it was hard to make financial commitments when there was a lack of information from the Government about the MOD's assets.

Related link: Fox says defence bills come before tax cuts

Comments

[Unixman]

There are comments on Arrse and Rum Ration which are pertinant: http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/Forums/viewtopic/t=99204.html and http://www.navy-net.co.uk/cpgn2/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=14696#244955

[Letters From A Tory]

It's not really a crowd-pleasing set of policies but these are all sensible changes that will appeal to supporters of a strong military.

Good job Liam.

[Malcolm Dunn]

Well don Fox! The point about having strategic defence revue regularly is essential. If the circumtances change then surely we as a nation must adapt to them? It is this governments falure to launch operations on the basis of what we knew in 1998 that has caused our armed forces so many problems in Iraq and Afghanistan.
No government can plan for every eventuality but this one has not planned for anything.

[Malcolm Dunn]

Rather sad that so few people have chosen to comment on this thread. Do people really think this subject is less important than PMQ's or what's happening at City Hall?

[Conand]

Malcolm I hope it's because we're all broadly in agreement with these suggestions.
A 4 year SDR interval might lead to our second guessing ourselves and encourage 'cop out' thinking.
As weapon systems seem to take between 20 & 40 years to come to fruition, frequent SDRs might just add costs beyond their benefit.
Certainly more discussion of operational objectives and requirements amongst the body politic and the nation is desirable.
This would require a baseline of respect and indeed love for our armed forces which in some quarters seems to have been eroded.

[Frank Rixon B.E.M. Mem Sec.Combined Armed Forces Assoc.]

What has been fogotten is the fact that those who have given their services prior to 1975 are neglected when they are refused a pro-rata pension like those after 1975.
Every M.P. has had a copy of our report outlining our case and sadly only a few have replied. Why is it that those who fought much longer and difficult battles are neglecte?.Why call us heroes if you have no respect for the veterans?. SEE www.caff.org.uk