|
|
Soldiers plan federation to fight for their rights
IAN BRUCE,
Defence Correspondent
Glasgow Herald
January 13 2006
Military campaigners are preparing to form a National Defence Association (NDA) which would represent Britain's 250,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen and give them an independent voice for the first time in history.
The association would provide expert advice and support for soldiers facing legal action as a result of alleged war crimes or internal disciplinary complaints.
It would also try to raise the public profile of defence and the need for adequate government funding for forces which have suffered shortages of body armour, uniforms and even ammunition during recent operations in Iraq.
Lord Garden, the former RAF air marshal and 1991 Gulf war veteran, has already tabled a written question to be debated in the House of Lords, asking if there is "any bar to serving members of the armed forces forming an association along the lines of the Police Federation".
The campaigners involved included a wide cross-section of serving and retired people of all ranks and services.
They have taken heart from the successful campaign last year to ensure that military personnel and their families are guaranteed a vote in future UK and European elections.
The association is envisaged along the lines of the powerful Police Federation, although it is stressed that it would not be a trade union.
One of the main motivations behind the idea for the new body is the disquiet felt inside the military over a series of pending prosecutions and failed cases over allegations of abuse or unlawful killing of Iraqis by British soldiers.
A recent case against seven members of the parachute regiment collapsed because Iraqi witnesses admitted lying. The men had already faced more than a year of judicial inquiries and the stress of a potential prison sentence.
Key players in the formation of the new group also envisage representing part-time Territorial Army soldiers wounded on active service who claim they have been later abandoned by the Ministry of Defence after leaving the immediate military medical chain of care.
Given the increasing use of part-timers to plug gaps in the ranks of the regulars, the association would also address the plight of TA veterans dismissed by their employers after being called up for six month tours of active duty.
Although such sackings are illegal, about 24 TA soldiers are currently involved in court action for compensation or reinstatement. However, they are fighting the cases out of their own pockets because of lack of financial support from the MoD.
The maximum penalty for employers who breach the Reserve Forces Act provisions on job security is just £1000.
The association's provisional guidelines are careful to dispel any perception of a move towards becoming a military trade union, which would be illegal under Queen's Regulations and would, in any case, be anathema to many in the armed forces.
The organisers insist that it would be a tri-service support and advisory body, independent of the military chain of command and funded by the donation of one day's pay a year from each member to allow the hiring of legal and other experts.
It would be open to all serving and former soldiers and to reservists and families.
The draft guideline document states: "Accepting the convention that the forces cannot be seen themselves to pro-actively educate and inform politicians, the media and through them, the British public, then some other organisation should do so.
"Singing from the same song sheet, such an organisation should be one to be heard and one to be reckoned with."
The campaigners are anxious to avoid antagonising the MoD or the top brass of the three services, but insist that while the association would not become a political rod with which to beat the government of the day, it would reserve the right to comment on the execution and consequences of going to war.
The organisation would also not be allowed to become an officers' club, or part of any existing old boys' network.
Its structure foresees a management composed of both military and civilian policy-makers, with a range of full and part-time paid executives representing different disciplines and selected "high-profile personalities" with an interest in military affairs.
Lord Ashdown, a former Royal Marines' officer, leader of the Liberal Democrats and civilian administrator in the Balkans, has been touted as a potential first president of the NDA.
|
|
