rob878

As a current serving member of the armed forces (all be it the light blue third), we take the p*ss out of the Americans daily for their tub thumping nationalism and in some cases what seems to us out right stupidity in various theatres of operations around the world. However ever one thing has always struck me about their public, it's the unbelievable support the general public gives their armed forces. Although a large proportion of the populace doesn't agree in the mire that Bush has managed to sink the country in with respect to Iraq and `stan, their press and public still support the boys in the field.

With this in mind please look at these links and ask yourself would the NIMBY`s of middle england like to see these pics over their morning cornflakes, or would the PC brigade allow such images be produced in the press.

The New York Times > Arts > Slide Show > Purple Hearts > Slide 1 of 11

and:

Nina Berman Photography

Leslie

Unless things change considerably, you will discover that the day you finish your service, you become a forgotten person, regardless of how long you served.

You get no privileges as the equivalent of an American Veteran who is allowed in to the messes and also to shop on the station where prices are much cheaper. Not that the NAAFI shop is much improvement but it is the principle which counts. You are not allowed on the station any more let alone any such advantages. With such an attitude, it is not surprising the Gurkha's are treated the way they are.

Les

mrtheedge2u2

It is good to see things like that...... the NYT should run a special edition where they have pics of all the UK soldiers killed in friendly fire by the US donkeys...... but saying that, it would be the largest edition of the NYT ever!!!

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Also when you are due to leave your life is made harder, it is like you are being punished for wanting to leave rather than commended for serving your time.

When I was due to leave I was beasted by the RPs and was put on show parade for some pathetic thing I can't even remember, then the RPs found something wrong. It turned out that I had 5 show parades up until midnight before they would finally leave me alone.

The last thing you do before leaving camp is go round getting signatures from various depts to say you have no outstanding issues, this can also be a **** about as it is usually Sgt Mjr or junior NCOs that deal with this stuff.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

photo 6 has just left me numb!

FlightMan

Me too. Not your typical wedding photo is it.

rob878

Well i'm sure that I will find that out in the future Leslie, at the moment it seems that the mainstream opinion mirrors that of Rudyard Kiplings poem "Tommy"

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

The British do not seem to be as patriotic and as inwardly focused as they are in the states. In some ways this is really bad, in others its good. Somehow though, we should find the balance as our service personnel allow us to be the country that we are. Mind you, that country we have become is pretty damn poor.

Most of the decent people in the UK are pretty fed up with the way things are, perhaps that is why they are not as appreciative as they good be. I dunno, it is a shame though.

WRX300MAN

War sucks!!!

Jaybird-UK

Those photos are very powerfull!

Having lived in the US for a short periods I think the yanks have it about right, pride in their nation and pride in their armed forces.

Many social places such as theme parks etc have reduced and express entrance for veterans, they even get to display special car number plates in recognition of their service amongst other things.

California Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans Services - More Special Plates for Veterans

Its also pretty common to see "We support our troops" magnetic stickers on the back of many US cars.

Sure they sometimes over do it for us conservative British, but dont you think our guys deserve a bit more recognition and respect when returning civvy?

swampster

iTrader: (1)

Those pictures are really potent, and to me highlight the differences between two allied nations with respect to how they treat their armed forces.

Yep it's a p*ss poor show really, but then in reality they don't look after currently serving military people all that well in comparison to our US counterparts. The facilities on a base for example or while on deployment just don not compare! So to expect anything other than total abandonment for ex service people is probably just folly!

"Clearing" they used to call it in the RAF.. complete bunch of ****!

It's like resettlement leave.. apparently not an entitlement, more a privilege as I found out in my last few months. I had an **** of a JengO (Jnr Eng Officer) who went out of his way to ensure I couldn't take leave for the courses that had been booked with my resettlement allowance, losing both leave and course time. Tried getting it sorted with the resettlement office and admin flight, but they all said nothing could be done if he was being tw@t like that!

Also got dicked for station guard duty more times than I could count in my final few months!

As for this country supporting it's armed forces, well the story concerning the NIMBY's complaining about the house that SSAFA bought for family accommodation while their serving family members receive treatment at Headley Court for injuries probably sustained in Iraq or Afghanistan. Says it all really!

Still, as an aside or an afterthought.. US servicemen weren't always getting the support they get now.. just look back at the Vietnam years!

andythejock01wrx

Made me think of the pics of burnt WW2 Spitfire/Hurricane pilots. Very sad.

Andy Mc

Trucker Ted

Those photos are sad and shocking ,but really hit home the true brutality of war. Photos like this should be shown to the public on a daily basis to let them remember just what is going on over there,as lets face it,most of the public aren't really affected by Iraq or bothered as long as they don't have family over there,out of sight out of mind. People should be proud of our troops and glad that we have them ,because if we didn't then we could have National service like other countries and maybe not have an option about going to a god forsaken place.All the scumbags here that go about getting drunk on the streets every weekend, fighting or stabbing people etc, i wonder how long they would take to grow up over there?
As for troops that do get seriously injured,they should never be forgotten and the government should see to it ,that they are looked after financially to give them a good standard of living.

God bless our Troops.

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

It's good that the public get to see these pictures, and its a shame that more of the many recently wounded British soldiers don't get into the papers - god knows there are enough of them. Soldier loses sight, arm, leg, has major skin graft for burns etc etc isn't as interesting to the public as dead ones I guess.

The mentality of the British public and business can be pretty much summed up by the fact that Gen Dannatt had to shame the Royal Mail into extending free postage to Troops on operations (with a woolly, "we'll see what we can do about after Christmas as well").

I don't know if any others here have served in a predominantly US environment when in Iraq and Afghanistan; but when you see how they are supported by the American public its actually pretty damn depressing when you think about the nanosecond the British public let the Forces enter their conscience every couple of days. Some of it I would find pretty embarrassing in that way us Brits like to understate things, but it was nice to see that the US public back home supported their forces, even if many of them had real issues about the politics behind it.

But hey, when the government can't be arsed to sort out the fact that most members of the forces (both single and families) still living in substandard accommodation when they're not on operations - is it any wonder that the Public and Business are as apathetic as they are towards us?