Did anyone else see this interview with Sir Jock Stirrup?
I've been out of the mil for a few years, so although I've read some of the views on here, I tried to approach his interview with an open mind.
I have to say, I found him to be very lacking in straight talking. Marr asked him if it was right that a traffic warden gets paid more than a private soldier fighting in Afghanistan.(In fact his reply was so bland he asked him the same question twice). His reply was along the lines of
" What is of more importance is that the independent pay review body's recommendations are honoured in full by the government of the day".
Now as an armchair punter sitting at home, that's not what I really need to hear. What happens if the Pay Review Body are out of touch with what is really going on?, they've clearly allowed the parity between military and civilians to become distorted. I really wanted him to shout out that the pay differentials were outrageous.
The whole interview was a series of questions followed by carefully chosen answers, that appeared to be carefully phrased so that he could not be quoted on anything controversial.
And one final point. He made reference to the Mil Covenant, and implied that the main breakdown was that the British Public sometimes did not appear to appreciate our troops efforts.....what an utter load of bollocks. The breakdown is a result of years of government underfunding and political interference. Shame on him for not saying it!!!