War veterans

[piltymon]

Could we have a topic about war veterans please? I'm interested in what the general public think they deserve upon returning from war. All wars are of interest from the World wars to Vietnam, The Gulf war and The Argentinian war. Should we treat them any better than anyone else and, should we treat them even better after a particularly bloody war?

[jambutty]

The daily food allowance for prisoners is a few pence more per day than for servicemen/women. That must say something about the government’s view of our service personnel.

The major reason why we are not speaking either Spanish, French or German is because for the last thousand years or more our soldiers and sailors and in modern times the air force have repelled all invasions.

Walter Raleigh showed the Spanish that quality will always triumph over quantity as the Spanish Armada was sent packing.

Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington put a spoke in Napoleon’s ambitions of world domination.

The British armed forces showed Kaiser Wilhelm II that his European ambitions would not bear fruit.

That jumped up corporal Hitler had similar ambitions but once again it was primarily the British armed forces that stood in his way until the industrial might of the USA and men swayed the balance.

Argentine President Leopoldo Galtieri tried his luck with the Falkland Islands and got a bloody nose for his trouble

Since WWII the British servicemen and women have carried out their duties with bravery and distinction wherever they were sent in spite of having to use equipment that left a great deal to be desired.

Their reward for putting their lives on the line has been abysmal with the latest insult being the award of the Veterans’ Lapel Badge and certificate to all surviving ex-servicemen and women. The Lapel Badge, cheaply made in China, has two dents in the face and the certificate didn’t even name the recipient. Please see below. I have amended the generic certificate to what it should have been.

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...men-22405.html refers.

At least the government had the decency to declare that henceforth 27th June will be Veterans’ Day. Even then the government has hijacked that day as the day that Gordon Brown becomes the new PM.

So in a nutshell it has always been a case of thanks for putting your life on the line, now push off.

[WillowTheWhisp]

They could at least have had the decency to make each certificate individual to the person.

[Royboy39]

Originally Posted by piltymon

Could we have a topic about war veterans please? I'm interested in what the general public think they deserve upon returning from war. All wars are of interest from the World wars to Vietnam, The Gulf war and The Argentinian war. Should we treat them any better than anyone else and, should we treat them even better after a particularly bloody war?

Rather a strange set of questions.
Most returning servicemen dont expect special treatment.
Have you had a bad experience?

[piltymon]

Originally Posted by Royboy39

Rather a strange set of questions.
Most returning servicemen dont expect special treatment.
Have you had a bad experience?

The questions were brought about by something I was watching on American TV this morning. In America there seems to be the idea that the Vietnam vets were hard done by. I just wondered what a wider audience thought is all.

[SamF]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

They could at least have had the decency to make each certificate individual to the person.

Especially with the fact your talking 5 minutes on a mail merge. Advertisements can do it but not the people doing these awards ? Disgraceful.

[blazey]

I dont think they deserve special treatment. Its just their chosen career at the end of the day to do something for the country.
Bin men and teachers do things for the country and they dont get any particularly special treatment.

This current 'war' isnt a proper war anyway as theyre only in Iraq to help the people there arent they, not fight against them all. Saying that I dont quite know anything about the thing in Afghanistan.

As far as I'm aware though there isn't an official declaration of war,troops are just there to help the countries regain full power and basically fight against the violent people there who I suppose are a bit like revolutionists arent they?

Many people do things for the country and don't get particular recognition so I don't think there is a particular need. If we were in an actual war right now and people were being forced into joining and volunteering then those returning deserve recognition.

I'd say right now though the troops aren't providing much for are own country but more in the countries theyre actually in so if anything, they deserve rewarding over there.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by blazey

I dont think they deserve special treatment. Its just their chosen career

Many war veterans were conscripted into the armed forces.

[cashman]

the american troops in iraq are mainly conscript as far as i'm aware.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by garinda

Many war veterans were conscripted into the armed forces.

Thats the word I was thinking of a bit further down my post and yeh i said they do deserve treatment.
I was mainly referring to the 'war' in Iraq thats going on right now.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by cashman

the american troops in iraq are mainly conscript as far as i'm aware.

Do we award American troops in our country? I wasn't aware of that.

Who in America has to be conscripted for war then? Those with no jobs or education on going?

[cashman]

Originally Posted by piltymon

Could we have a topic about war veterans please? I'm interested in what the general public think they deserve upon returning from war. All wars are of interest from the World wars to Vietnam, The Gulf war and The Argentinian war. Should we treat them any better than anyone else and, should we treat them even better after a particularly bloody war?

oh i must be blind blazey, it does mention this country also thought national service was mandatory in the usa.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by cashman

oh i must be blind blazey, it does mention this country also thought national service was mandatory in the usa.

if national service is mandatory who is it mandatory to exactly? who goes to the universities if all the young americans are at war?

I know obviously piltymon is on about america but i was asking whether we award american troops in UK when they return home?

I don't think any troops expect rewards as they are happy to serve for their country wherever they may be.

I don't really think I could give an opinion on being grateful for winning the wars either as it might be better leadership for all I know under another country and none of the languages particularly bother me either.

I think my post didnt deserve any rudeness seen as I'm referring to my own country, why on earth would I be referring to Americas policies on rewarding their troops if i dont live there.

[WillowTheWhisp]

A lot of the American soldiers in Vietnam were conscripts. When America pulled out of Vietnam it seemed to be ashamed of the soldiers who came back wounded and maimed and not a lot seemed to be done to help them readjust back into civilian life. I do think where conscription is concerned the onus is then on the government to help them to readjust when they come back from traumatic experiences and especially to help the disabled veterans to have some sort of dignified existence. After all they wouldn't have been disabled if they hadn't been called up to fight something they didn't specifically believe in.

[Tin Monkey]

Originally Posted by piltymon

The questions were brought about by something I was watching on American TV this morning. In America there seems to be the idea that the Vietnam vets were hard done by. I just wondered what a wider audience thought is all.

The war in Vietnam was massively unpopular, especially in America, which goes a long way towards explaining why soldiers returning from that war were sidelined.
America tried to ignore soldiers from that war for a long time. In fact, they tried to ignore the war altogether! For example, it wasn't until the mid-1980s that Hollywood acknowledged Vietnam as anything other than a backdrop for another story (e.g. Apocalypse Now).