Armed Farces - The Sun

I know we ARRSErs have a tendency to keep on bashing The Sun for past (and future) sins, but I think they've actually managed to hit the nail on the head here.

Ok ok - it's got their perennial favourite Mike Jackson in it, and they manage to confuse 'Restricted' with 'Secret' (as usual) and I feel they could have gone a good deal further with their searingly accurate reportage.

Or is it simply a slow news day on the Street of Shame?

 

A lot of it is slow news day - and I'd place a large bet that they have been selectively leaked plans (in the same manner as the Al West towpath scandal) to cause maximum publicity. There are a lot of plans out there to do things, 99% of them are never enacted. The fact that 6 escorts are being considered for the chop is very worrying news though.

As for the RAF planes debacle - don't blame MOD, blame the Treasury - I've been told by well placed sources that they vetoed the installation as installing DASS didn't count as a UOR???

 

I was getting a tad homesick I have to admit. Then I saw the photos of the SFQs in the Sun which look just like the last place (in fact all the shite holes) I had in the UK after 18 years service and having reached a respectable officer rank. This evening I’m looking out over Sydney Harbour and the Tasman sea from my Australian military quarter, I realise coming here with the family 18 months ago was one of my better decisions. Confident and professional army, expanding (especially on the lookout for UK Inf and SF) whose govt does not over commit it. Bloody great.

Self satisfied git

RD

 

They had to get it in there somewhere, didn't they

 

I think it's the start of the Murdoch empire withdrawing it's support from the Nu labour project. I think Murdoch realises what a catastrophe Brown would be for the UK economy (see Murdoch's empire), so he's looking to Dave the chameleon for better times.

 

Whilst I am no fan of the Scum, but at least they are raising the issue, hopefully they will push it, what ever draws attention to the actions of the moraly bankrupt and gets the troops the tools, equipment and care they deserve then I am all for it.

However I am mature enough to know that given the chance the Scum who turn againstg the forces, I just say use then whilst we can.

 

I'd made it to the same point as well - somebody left it on the train, honest guv!

Anything that keeps this at the top of the agenda is welcome though, and inasmuch that I don't have the highest regard for Sun reporting, this is helping to keep pressure on the MOD, to improve the lot of hte armed forces. It also highlighted the cause and effect of such large cutbacks to the RAF, which doesn't seem to be at the front of the media often.

 

Maybe it's coincidence, but it's not just the Redtops that are keeping up the pressure.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/76288.html

Am I just delerious after the Bolton resignation, or are we seeing a genuine groundswell of support?

PS Note the ripping of quotes from the Jacko thread. Ah, well, I suppose royalties for the posters are out of the question?

 

As it appears that there is some competition to be the "Forces Favourite paper" - and some debate here as to which paper is, my Friday suggestion is that either, the question is posed in the continuous atitutude survey, or, the MOD award the title to the highest bidder in a five year PFI where all usage of the quote then realises a payment to the treasury! This way there can be no debate, and the MOD can claw back some of the hard spent PR money that it spends reacting to these spurious stories that keep appearing. Okay, maybe not!

 

Not so independent I'm afraid, or indeed unique. Whilst snatching my lunch today I had a quick flick through my wife's paper - the Daily Hate of course, we are British and middle class -and found a similar item.

I have yet to ruffle my own torygraph but I would not be surprised to see...

 

The sun article contains a number of poorly investuigated claims and at least one complete falsehood.

The paper quotes Bushey MQ's as Slums - They are certainly poor and, being built on clay are subsiding in places. The patch is bounded by a fairly 'interesting' estate and many of the quarters [approx 70% at a guess] are being held empty by DHE and not maintained. The reason that many of the MQ's are boarded up is because the windows and patio doors have been kicked in. In the last month at least three of the empty MQs have been broken into and the copper plumbing [including an entire immersion tank] stolen. The resultant flooding has brought down ceilings and the quarters are very damp - by about 3 inches of water per floor in some cases!

However, the picture of the 'spartan bathroom' is in fact a picture of a sink in a bedroom.

Secondly, the paper implies that the fact that the RAF lost 134 Jets [which were not transport], 7000 personnel and a major airbase is the reason why 'it has been struggling to cope with its workload ever since'. The real issue is that the existing transport fleet has not been supported reducing availability and that Operational commitments have gone up [meaning we need more transport aircraft]. We still have plenty of sexy jets for the fast air community - what we want is the boring, working transport lift and the money isn't there to provide both.

The point is - Well done Sun for trying to say that the military are not currently funded by Brown to meet Blair's commitments, but Big black marks for shit journalism which gets easily picked apart and threfore ignored by MPs.

Next time - try mentioning the facts like the reduction in GDP spent on defence balanced against an ever increasing operational commitment - That might be a little better journalism


Still, nice t*ts on Page 3.

 

The Sun, like all other newspapers, is used for political gain!

Newspapers make or break governments and control the masses.

It is strange, that any paper would claim to be the 'forces favourite' - do they actuallt spy on servicemen and women worldwide to gain that sort of intelligence? They are a bad paper with bad reporting and the average Sun reader is mentally not the brightest spark in the box....

 

The comparison it made with how well asylum seekers were treated favourly was interesting though.