Honour the Covenant - Take Action

Coming from a service family (My Father served in the RAF for 35 years) and having also married into a Service Family (Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law both having served or serving in the Royal Marines), the action being taken by the British Legion is close to my heart.

My Father and Father-in-Law were also heavily involved in SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help) after they retired and understood many of the problems that service personnel faced when they left the services either voluntarily or because of injury.

Previously I had talked about this under the title "Neglected and Let Down"

A little story from My Father-in-Law, a few days ago, shows how the Covenant is strong within the Services themselves but this seldom applies to the government.

My Father-in-Law has been very ill recently and has been amazed at the amount of contact/help he has received from comrades, both those who have kept in contact and those whom he had lost contact with during the time since he retired. Contacts have been renewed around the world and many wishes for his recovery have been received. Help has been offered both from local people and those living further afield. This culminated in a recent phone call from an old comrade Sir Steuart Pringle, former Commandant General of the Royal Marines and President of the Royal Marines Association wishing him well and reminiscing about when they had served together.

Contrast this with the government's attitude that they are quite willing to ignore their responsibilities and pay lip service to honouring the Covenant that they promise to each and every serving person.

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair between them have taken us into war in Iraq and Afghanistan with little understanding of the outcome of these decisions and the long term effects it has on people in the services.

Their attitude is that they are tools to be used and then to be disposed of as cheaply as possible.

You can all help current and ex serving personnel by supporting the British Legion campaign or volunteering for SSAFA

The Royal British Legion - Honour the Covenant - Take Action