MARK Wright's ambition was to be a paratrooper. But like scores of other British servicemen and women fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, the price of fulfilment could not have been higher.
On 6 September, 2006, the 27-year-old rushed to help six c
olleagues badly injured after straying into a minefield in the war-ravaged Helmand province of Afghanistan.
Corporal Wright, from Edinburgh, suffered serious injuries in a further blast while making his way to a helicopter which had been called in to assist. Despite his injuries, he tried to control the situation, giving encouragement to those around him, before dying of his wounds.
It was an act of heroism that posthumously earned him the George Cross, and is typical of many of the 11,900 British armed services personnel currently engaged in the bloody conflicts.
But the tragedy of Cpl Wright's death was compounded by the fact that he might have lived had proper rescue equipment been available.
The quality of equipment provided for the 11,900 British military personnel fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq has increasingly been called into question in recent months.
Complaints about shortages, from night vision kits and weaponry to armoured vehicles and helicopters, have been rife.
Yesterday, Cpl Wright's grieving parents, Bobby and Jem, added their voice to those concerns.
Making public their anger and frustration at the government's treatment of other service personnel, they claim a shortage of proper equipment is putting more lives at risk.
They told how their son bought his own boots because the standard issue "didn't last five minutes", and had to borrow body armour from a relative.
Mr Wright is furious at what he believes to be the lack of support for men and women in the conflict.
"I'm not saying they shouldn't be there. They're doing a job. But you don't go to war without the support, the right equipment," said Mr Wright, 61.
"Mark had to buy his own equipment because the stuff he had was rubbish.
"His uncle, who retired from the army, gave him his body armour.
"We just want to make sure the lads out there have got the equipment they need and the support they need. If you're going to war, you need the right stuff. "
In Cpl Wright's case, an MoD inquiry concluded he could have lived if the helicopter summoned to help had been equipped with a winch. An RAF Chinook had been sent, but it did not have a rescue winch. So they had to wait five hours for a US Knighthawk helicopter to rescue them.
The couple are still coming to terms with the loss of their son, who died only weeks before he was to be married to Gill, his long-term partner.
But their frustrations extend beyond serving personnel. Thousands of people discharged from the military on medical grounds, they claim, are being let down by a government only too quick to forget their valour, with growing numbers of ex- servicemen and women relying on charity to cope with homelessness, physical and mental health problems and debt.
"Once they're injured they don't get anything. They're left on the streets," said Mr Wright.
They are supporting a new charity called the Afghan Trust, which aims to provide financial support to injured personnel and their families. The couple recently raised more than £5,000 for the charity at a dance in Edinburgh. Mr Wright claimed: "They're not looked after. The Ministry of Defence gives them nothing, the government gives them nothing.
"They want them to go out there and fight, put their lives on the line. If they get injured they need to be looked after."
Their accusations are rejected by the MoD, who point to £3billion of extra spending on military equipment over the past seven years.
A spokeswoman said improved body armour was introduced in 2006, while steps were being taken to provide soldiers with better footwear.
"The equipment our men and women are using is among the best in the world, if not the best in the world," said a spokeswoman.
The MoD also rejects claims that not enough help is provided for injured and retired personnel. "They receive the very best possible care while they are recovering from injury," said a spokesman.
"And once they leave the services, they are offered priority treatment under the NHS. There is also a resettlement package available to them, providing help with interviews, CVs, helping them think about future careers."
He said all medically discharged personnel were given a lump-sum payment, with the most seriously injured receiving annual income payments.
Mr and Mrs Wright spoke to The Scotsman yesterday as the charity Poppy Scotland highlighted a catalogue of problems facing ex-military personnel. Their research shows that one in eight homeless people in Glasgow are ex-servicemen, while 80,000 across Scotland are blighted by debt or disability. Meanwhile another support group, Combat Stress, is reporting growing numbers of referrals for post-traumatic stress.
Jim Panton, chief executive of Poppy Scotland, said:
"There does need to be more support. It is actually coming through now but both the UK and Scottish governments realise more needs to be done."
Loyalty earns £15,000 bonus MEMBERS of the armed forces are being offered £15,000 bonuses in a bid by the government to prevent them from quitting. However, nobody will qualify for the loyalty payments – on which they will have to pay tax – until 2013.
Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, announced the £80 million initiative yesterday alongside moves to make it easier for military personnel to get on to the property ladder.
The Ministry of Defence is to pilot a £20 million scheme that would expand access to shared ownership schemes for the armed forces.
Most recent figures showed that the military is more than 5,500 personnel under strength, with shortfalls in January of 3,290 in the British Army, 1,280 in the Royal Navy and 940 in the Royal Air Force.
The new retention measures will increase the "commitment bonus" from £5,500 to £15,000 for non-officers who have accumulated four years' service and agree to serve another five.
But the payments will not be made until eight years' duty – ditching the current system of cash being paid upfront as an incentive to remain in service. The MoD hopes the "life-changing amount of money" will allow many service personnel to put down a deposit on a home.
It says it faces the greatest challenge in hanging on to staff in the "critical" period between four and eight years' service.
Details of how the MoD will assist military personnel to buy a new home on a shared equity basis – either with public bodies or private developers – will be unveiled in the coming months.
A review into the "reserved" forces – the Territorial Army, Naval and Royal Marine Reserves and Royal Auxiliary Air Force – was also announced yesterday.
There are currently 42,630 reservists, 4,370 short of target. Some 632 are serving in Afghanistan and 198 in Iraq. The aim is to get away from the "weekend warrior" image and make signing up more attractive to volunteers – and more beneficial to the military, particularly by drawing on civilian skills in post-war reconstruction activities.
The full article contains 1233 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
