Scully Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thank you for your brief synopsis and input to the discussion,why don't you actually join in and give your thoughts and opinions? I don't think there'd be much point. Others have differing opinions to yours but it doesn't seem to matter; I think the fact that less than 300 people have voted with only a few days to go speaks volumes unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Veterans should not be fast tracked, they should have a seperate route to specialist care, outside the NHS something like Combat Stress but funded. However, my experience of squaddies during my time in green was that a lot of them were damaged goods before they joined. The rigid army life held them together but also tolerated, even encouraged, a lot of behavour that would have been regarded as antisocial outside. It doesn't have to be PTSD or combat related, lots of them just cannot cope with life outside the camp gates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) There are different opinions and there is not understanding,if you are going to offer a difference of opinion you should at least have an understanding of what is being discussed,to continue to offer up scenarios and thoughts after you have been repeatedly told and shown the facts which you have ignored is just plain daft. The vote is not mine,i have nothing to do with it. This thread has been viewed by over 1000 so people who maybe knew nothing of the subject may now have an insight. Edited March 20, 2015 by welsh1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thank you for your brief synopsis and input to the discussion,why don't you actually join in and give your thoughts and opinions? Welsh, why the bitterness? I posted my thoughts very early on this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Where is the bitterness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Where is the bitterness? Ok, possibly poor choice of words. It is an emotive subject especially for anyone with direct experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Ok, possibly poor choice of words. It is an emotive subject especially for anyone with direct experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carman06 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Would you think somebody who risks their lives every single day And will run into a burning building to save people's loved ones is more or less deserving than a soldier? How about doctors who risk their lives daily dealing with people carrying Ebola ? Aside from personal opinions on the subject it's impossible to justify "fast tracking" anybody into any medical treatment based on race, religion or choice of employer, we were asked the question on a course once that if there were thirty people on a bus with only one exit and it caught fire should you save the old folk, Pregnant woman, children or disabled first? The answer was a simple no as they all have an equal right to life regardless of age, sex or physical ability , who would you have saved and why? Soldiers just like all other employees are fully aware of the possible outcomes of their employment choice when they join the forces, yes they get a bad deal and deserve to be treated a lot better than they are at present but so does everybody else in this country Please don't forget that when fireman gave gone on strike in the past as they were fully right and entitled to it was the military who did their job. If a doctor does not agree with what they are asked to do, they are protected and can refuse to do it. In the military if you disagree with what is asked of you it's tough. There's no Union to watch your back and any refusal to carry out duties regardless of what they are can either result in loss of life in some cases on the front line. Or custodial punishment if that's what decided. So please don't think when an 18 year old joins the military he is aware that in 3-4 years down the line when he's told to perform his duties in conflict he has a choice, because option 1 May be disobey and friends and civilians die, option 2 disobey and spend 18 months in prison. This is not and never will be comparable to any other employment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carman06 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 I wasn't going to get involved in this having already given my opinion regarding serving and ex serving personnel on another thread, but that's a pathetically cheap shot solely designed to score cheap points and cause offence. I have the utmost respect for all our serving forces, but as I've said before, no one is forced to enlist; everyone in our armed forces today volunteered. They made the choice to join up of their own free will. If they get bits blown off them in the course of that duty then they have very right to expect full and complete treatment, but over and above that which is offered to any other person? Not in my opinion. You mention a special 'covenant'; read Tumbledown by Stephen Lawrence. No special covenant in there. Also on a different note the fact these people are doing their duty without being forced to (apparent choice of job) says a lot for their sacrifice for everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 I help to run our local RBL Branch. Our area is a very rural area of North Suffolk. We cover an area that includes eight villages and one small town. It is not, historically, a military area. In WW1 and WW2 most of the local men, and some of the women, served in the armed forces. When they returned home at the end of the conflicts, sadly a large number did not, they had experiences that they could share when they met in the pub and at work. National Service ended in the early 60's and since that date the numbers in our armed forces has decreased year upon year. Now, in our local area, we have only a handful of serving military. The result of this is that when the lads and lasses return from active service and leave the military they have no one to discuss their problems or memories with - WHO WILL TRULLY UNDERSTAND. It must be very lonely for them. They can come along to our branch and mardle with us, but we are an ancient set of old warriors compared to them. If they get mental problems and go to the doctors surgery - we are lucky in having one ex RAF GP - the chances are they well be referred to specialists who have little knowledge of military matters. It is all so very different from the days when everyone was in the same boat. I don't know what the answer, is unless a lot more finance is thrown at the problem, but it is very sad that the lads and lasses who served this country so valiantly are let down when they need our help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Also on a different note the fact these people are doing their duty without being forced to (apparent choice of job) says a lot for their sacrifice for everyone This melodramatic use of the word 'sacrifice' gets on my wick to be honest. Anyone in the armed forces is doing a job of work. They volunteered for that job; they are trained to do it and by the time that training is through they are well aware of what is expected of them. They aren't expected to sacrifice themselves for anyone, nor has anyone asked them to. Some are killed or injured because the line of work they volunteered to be trained for has placed them in a dangerous situation, and some individuals carry out extreme acts of amazing bravery because that situation calls for extreme action and that is the way some people are made. In the process, some are killed or injured, and some are not, but I doubt any of them perceived themselves as making any sort of sacrifice. They're doing what they were trained to do. They have my utmost respect, and when injured should be treat with all and any professional medical care within our means. But they're not. The government will tell you they're already being taken care of and the MOD don't care. The MOD are answerable to no one. Two thousand ex squaddies camped outside parliament for a week or two would generate some great media interest (especially in the run up to a GE; the timing couldn't be better) and the general public would more than likely be right behind the protest, but pinning your hopes on a piddly little e-petiton to get people to sit up and take notice just isn't going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpkiller Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Not signing this preferential consideration shouldnt be based on career choice or cause of injury. On the other hand give me a peice of paper to sign saying they will set up hospitals, education and some sort of transitional system for when soldiers need to rejoin the civilian life and ill sign that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorismyhero Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Cheap shot, what are you trying to say people in different professions than the army are not real men and women, ? I would cringe before telling anyone that they could all sleep in bed safely because i was protecting them. Do you realise how that comes across, its like something that captain Mainwaring would come out with. We will have to agree to disagree, you think soldiers should get preferential treatment I don't. Both views are allowed. YES they are BUT.....have you ever thought that perhaps your right to YOUR views is sustained by those very people you so easily dismiss... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ordnance Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 (edited) YES they are BUT.....have you ever thought that perhaps your right to YOUR views is sustained by those very people you so easily dismiss... Yes but that doesn't mean I think they should be able to get fast tracked treatment for mental health care. Police try to keep me safe and fire officers risk their lives pulling people out of fires and traffic accidents, doctors and nurses save peoples lives daily, all of them can and do suffer PTSD as a result of their experiences. Do I think they should get fast tracked treatment no. Should military personnel get fast tracked in front of a child with PTSD that has being abused or anyone else with PTSD no. If some think they should get preferential treatment that's fine. As I said I would be happy to support a petition for additional money and resources to be made available for service personnel. PS me having a view doesn't dismiss someone else's view. Edited March 22, 2015 by ordnance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Easy Gentlemen - This will only get a very serious topic locked down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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