Press coverage

December 11th - - BBC News - Homecoming parade for Iraq troops The parade comes after Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, said in September he was concerned that the work carried out by troops was not being acknowledged.
This silence on the Army speaks volumes General Sir Richard Dannatt must seem an increasingly turbulent priest. Warning of a growing gulf between the nation and its Army, and calling for an outward and visible sign of public esteem in homecoming parades, he risks the sword. But he does so through hard-headed professionalism. Recall what he said when he became Chief of the General Staff: "I want an Army in five years' time."
Unpopular wars undermine the army In a speech on 21 September, at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Dannatt expanded on his fear that the unpopularity of the wars our soldiers are fighting is affecting how they are seen at home. "Soldiers are genuinely concerned when they come back from Iraq to hear the population that sent them being occasionally dismissive or indifferent about their achievements," he said. "We are in danger of sapping our volunteer army's willingness to serve in such...
Councils shamed into welcoming troops home Last Friday, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt said: "How many councils have written to local battalions to ask when they are coming back from Iraq and whether they can give them a homecoming parade? The answer, I fear, is not high." When The Daily Telegraph contacted local authorities in areas with large Army bases, such as Surrey and Wiltshire, it found that almost all offered support only when the military contacted them.
Giving Tommy his due General Sir Richard Dannatt made a powerful point last week when he deplored the lack of respect with which our service men and women are regarded when they return from theatres of conflict to these islands.
Treatment of our soldiers is a disgrace Gen Sir Richard Dannatt is worried about this lack of public care for our Armed Forces and has said so publicly. As the professional Head of the Army he is right to be so. Of course, our Armed Forces are fighting unpopular wars. But they are doing so because we, the people, through a government we elected, have sent them. In every sense they are "Our Boys".
Parade snub for Britain's returning soldiers Last Friday, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt asked: "How many councils have written to their local battalions to ask when they are coming back from Iraq and whether they can give them a homecoming parade? The answer, I fear, is not high." That view was borne out yesterday when The Daily Telegraph contacted local authorities in areas containing large Army bases, such as Surrey, Wiltshire and Yorkshire.
We don't treat our troops well enough In recent weeks, military campaigners, including the Royal British Legion, have been raising the "military covenant", the tacit contract between a country and its armed forces that many feel has been broken by falling defence spending and increasing operational commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq. And last week, General Sir Richard Dannatt, the chief of the general staff, warned that a "dismissive and indifferent" attitude among the public risks undermining armed forces'...
No new MoD budget for army housing Mr Browne was taken to task two weeks ago by the Commons Defence Committee for failing to house the Armed Forces in decent accommodation. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, has also recently spoken out about inadequate housing.
Few welcome parades planned for soldiers General Sir Richard Dannatt said that soldiers returning from conflict zones were dismayed to find that the public could be “dismissive or indifferent'' to what they had been through. In a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, he said: “Soldiers are genuinely concerned when they come back from Iraq to hear the population that sent them being occasionally dismissive or indifferent about their achievements, because if they ever did, they now no longer...
Grenadier Guards Return Home in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, he said: “Soldiers are genuinely concerned when they come back from Iraq to hear the population that sent them being occasionally dismissive or indifferent about their achievements, because if they ever did, they now no longer approve of the campaign - and of Afghanistan, they do not understand the campaign. “We are in danger of sapping at our volunteer army's willingness to serve in such an atmosphere...
Housing and tax boost for forces ranks He was responding to criticism from the head of the armed services Sir Richard Dannatt that military personnel were not being properly looked after and accommodated when they were back in the UK.
Troops to get better housing and tax breaks The concessions come after mounting criticism over the treatment of Britain's front-line soldiers, including from army chief Sir Richard Dannatt and the Royal British Legion who say the armed forces are being taken for granted.
Troops to get council tax rebate Last week the head of the Army, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, suggested the attitude of the UK public could also sap the willingness of Britons to serve in the armed forces. He contrasted the UK's often "dismissive or indifferent" attitude to the achievements of soldiers returning from combat with the support US citizens give to their soldiers.
Troops win council tax rebate Last week, the head of the army, general sir Richard Dannatt, said the British public are not supportive of troops, contrasting their "dismissive and indifferent" response with the attitude to homecoming troops in America.
NI soldiers to get rates rebate Last week, the head of the Army, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, said parades which greet American soldiers upon arriving home should also be considered in the UK.
Defence Secretary to promise troops a rebate Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, will promise troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan a 25% rebate on their council tax today when he speaks to the Labour faithful at the annual party conference in Bournemouth. Less than a week after General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the British Army, condemned the apathy shown to British troops, Mr Browne will appeal to the public for strong support for the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A lesson in patriotism from Smalltown In an impassioned speech on Friday General Dannatt expressed his dismay at the morale-sapping apathy shown to our troops who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. A young soldier, he said, deserves respect for his courage; he wants to know “that people in his local pub know and understand what he has been doing”. Rhetorically, he asked how many councils would even consider a homecoming parade, which took him neatly to a comparison with the United States where, instead of what he sees as a...
Britain - General warns of gap between army a In a speech to top think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies on Friday, Gen Dannat said: When a young soldier has been fighting in Basra or Helmand, he wants to know that the people in their local pub know and understand what he has been doing and why. In America, appreciation for the armed forces is outstanding and, frankly, I would like to be able to mirror some of that here, he added.
Lack of appreciation for soldiers 'sapping' In a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Gen Dannatt warned the current struggle against "extremism" - both in Britain and abroad - was likely to continue for "quite some time". At the same time however, he said the Army needed to undergo a costly rebuilding process in case it was called on to fight a conventional war between states.