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SNP demands change to stop military being 'cheated' out of holidays

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Published Date: 05 July 2009
By Christopher Claire
AN SNP MSP has launched a Holyrood bid to persuade defence chiefs that travelling time should not count towards the holiday allowance of service personnel. Kenneth Gibson argued that troops are being "cheated" out of their full entitlement.

He has written to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth urging a rethink. And he has tabled a Holyrood motion criticising the Ministry of Defence's stance.

Servicemen and their families are routinely advised that 14 days of rest and recuperation includes travelling time, which typically reduces it to 12 days. Holiday allowances for US and Canadian service personnel do not include travelling time, said Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North.

"Our service personnel do a difficult, dangerous and stressful job often in hostile territory thousands of miles from home," he said. "The more dangerous and far-flung a posting, the less time service personnel can enjoy with their families.

"By effectively cheating our troops out of some of their leave, the MoD is devaluing the job they do."

But an MoD spokesman said such a change would have "unacceptable" implications. It would disrupt planning and create a knock-on effect on subsequent or overlapping leave periods for other service personnel, which in turn could affect operational requirements.





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  • Last Updated: 04 July 2009 9:21 PM
  • Source: Scotland On Sunday
  • Location: Scotland
  • Related Topics: Scottish National Party
 
1

The Col. of Monte Cristo,

05/07/2009 02:11:59
"But an[anonymus] MoD spokesman said such a change would have "unacceptable" implications."

Why not ask the Minister for War for a quote, you gave him a name check in the article?
2

qohldr,

05/07/2009 02:26:08
Kenneth maybe if you had served in the British armed forces you would have a clue what you were talking about, but it is evident that you have not served and you don't.
3

,

05/07/2009 03:03:24
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
4

westcider,

Isle of Lewis 05/07/2009 08:54:10
Almost the only people who do not get holidays of any kind are those who work in the North Sea on the rigs and are on a two weeks on two weeks off rota. In fact they work the equivalent of 42 hours for every single week of the year. depending on where they live they can lose a day travelling each way. I'm sure that the majority would be sympathetic to the servicemens case.
5

connaughtboy,

stonehaven 05/07/2009 09:33:49
This policy is clearly wrong and should be changed. The SNP should keep up the pressure on the MOD to change this shabby treatment of our soldiers.
6

connaughtboy,

stonehaven 05/07/2009 09:34:59
Notice #5 smee avoids talking about the article. Very telling.
7

The Saltire,

05/07/2009 10:45:37
5

What a tube. The SNP defence policy is to use part of the funding for the nukes to pay for upgrading our conventional forces. In other words keeping to the covenant between the Government and its armed forces by making sure they have the necessary kit to do the job.
8

The Saltire,

05/07/2009 11:42:10
9

Home defence, UN duties, keeping an aggressive warmongering neighbour at bay for starters.
On the other hand you have a UK government who sent its troops to a conventional war protected by a Nuke umbella at the cost of body armour and assault rifles which jammed in adverse weather conditions.
How many nukes did we use in Iraq and Afganistan again? in fact how many have we used since 1945? How many have we ever used anywhere at anytime?
9

Queen D,

05/07/2009 12:26:39
Chaps , if you respond to am ar$& it only encourages them.

Besides which there are some highly suspect activities used by papers under threat of closure to maintain their advertising revenue by bogus and contraversial postings designed to inflame arguments.

Our soldiers don't get a good deal in proper,life saving equipment from the MoD , what makes anyone think that they are likely to get their holiday entitlement?
10

mr broon,

Edinburgh 05/07/2009 12:36:15
The myth still persists?

After the humiliating cancellations of the multi-million Sky Bolt and Blue Streak systems, the UK has never had a truly independent nuclear deterrent.

At the Nassau Agreement, the Yanks had Great Britain over a barrel and, at massive cost, sold a few dozen Polaris missiles to the British just to enable a declining military power keep up its pretence.

The ageing V-Bomber fleet had to keep flying for years until the Yanks delivered Polaris, by which time it was obsolete!

It appears that history is simply repeating itself!
The declining UK is now an economic busted flush, and it will soon once again have to crawl to the Yanks and beg for Trident favours.

Britain has always come under the umbrella of the US nuclear deterrent, and always will!

The world has only one superpower:
the United States of America.
11

Gruntfuttock,

05/07/2009 13:34:54
Why does this pathetic toad Gibson not volunteer to go to Afghanistan instead and give some of these brave boys a proper holiday? Typical sanctimonious whinge we've come to expect from the intellectual pygmies that inhabit Holyrood.
12

The Col. of Monte Cristo,

05/07/2009 19:46:41
Gruntfuttock...knee high to an intellectual pygmy.
13

Queen D,

05/07/2009 20:36:20
The Col. of Monte Cristo, I wish I'd written that!
Round of applause!
14

JCA REID,

Annan 06/07/2009 11:22:59
The notion of giving a "staggered leave" because of travle times is unworkable en masse. There are occasions when personnel who have to travel virtually the entire length of the country or, had to get to a particular ferry port to continue their journey, would actually start their travelling 24hours or so, before the rest of the unit granted leave. Leave it simply up to the discretion & flexibility of the unit & individual/s concerned.
All this tampering around by MSP's is simply a case of them trying to find work for themselves & create "press time" for their egoes.

 

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