“Before I begin I do have to beg to differ with the comments
regarding the armed forces… yes the armed forces make a vital
contribution, but any recruits of young people must be managed carefully
and it must be an informed choice for young people… a lot of young
people enter the armed forces not through choice but through lack of
opportunities in the community so I do beg to differ on that point”
These are the words of Labour MP Beth Winter during a recent Welsh Affairs Select Committee meeting after members of the committee and the minister offered their thanks to the efforts of military personnel during COVID vaccine role outs. I'm not really big on writing about politics but when I saw this as a tweet from Guido Fawkes (a conservative commentary twitter account that I mostly disagree with) I had to do some more digging. Unfortunately, that was it. The story does not seem to appear anywhere else in the mainstream media but it really hit a nerve, enough so that I wanted to talk about it.
I left school with relatively poor grades and no real chance of getting into a decent university and with no real plan. What I had done was excelled at being an Army Cadet and so naturally, I decided to join the Army. I can say right now that if I had not joined the Army, I probably would not be in the position that I am today. It built me up as a person. There were of course low points to counter the good times along with very stressful times to counter the drunken times. It is true for sure that many people who do poorly at school or come from more deprived areas are drawn to military service. I think it is safe to say that this has been the case in the UK for many hundreds of years. The problem is, being poor or disadvantaged does not mean you can not become a bloody good soldier and a credit to this nation. As we have seen from COVID, from the military involvement in Ebola, Anti-poaching in Africa and from pulling old ladies out of their homes during (the many many) floods (yes surprise surprise, the Army does much more than just fight in the Middle East), the Army does great things.
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| FOB Shawqat, 2009 |
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For those that do join the Army with low skills, the Army helps you improve. There are many stories of people entering service with no GCSEs and then leaving with high level technical qualifications. I myself have never been disadvantaged by military service, I am now doing a PhD at a top 10 international university.
Military culture is very particular and if you know, you know. That said, most members of our armed services are average people who want to do their part for society and their nation regardless of background. The idea that a Member of Parliament would tout the idea that the Army takes advantage of the poor and the deprived is insulting and inherently wrong. I am proud of my service in both the Regular Army and in the Reserves and despite sometimes having to deal with the odd 'muppet' or over zealous NCO, it made me who I am and Beth Winter MP should take her head out of her 'far left' box and apologise.
Feel free to comment and tell me what you think.
(Link to original (and only) story)
