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Journalism of Courage
A good commander looks after his men, just as an effective trade union leader represents the interests of his members. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the British Army, has been outspoken in voicing the concerns of those soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan or training for deployment.
8230;General Dannatt has already raised the issue of welfare conditions, equipment shortages and military overstretch. Yesterday he spoke about pay. Was it right, he asked, that a soldier who risked his life in Afghanistan was paid less than a parking meter attendant?
This raises the question of cost. If pay is increased above the rate of inflation, where will the money be found, what programmes must be cut and what signal does this send to public sector wage negotiators amid a worsening economic outlook? 8230;So the government must be hardheaded in its response to General Dannatt. Over time, however, military spending will need to rise8230; The government cannot keep looking away from the fundamental issue of defence spending that arises from its military commitments. This country cannot will wars and decide upon interventions and then fail to provide the means to fight them successfully.
Excerpted from 8216;Army pay: the wages of war8217; in 8216;The Times8217;
