http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6230173.stm

Discuss

Some of the pictures look pretty disgusting.

I was mentioned in either The Sunday Times or The Mail on Sunday under the general headline 'weapons or walls' I think - not at all good.

For a Government that's keen on deploying British Military force throughout the world, it's not good at financing the operation.

Shameful.

An interviewee on the BBC was asked if they thought it was acceptable, the answer left me dumbfounded. 'Well they get it rent free, nurses and firemen have to pay rent and mortgages...' :loopy:

This is just another slap in the face to the serving soldiers, just like the national disgrace that our Prime Minister has not once been at RAF Brize Norton to see the returning coffins of the soldiers he sent to fight. :rant:

An interviewee on the BBC was asked if they thought it was acceptable, the answer left me dumbfounded. 'Well they get it rent free, nurses and firemen have to pay rent and mortgages...' :loopy:

This is just another slap in the face to the serving soldiers, just like the national disgrace that our Prime Minister has not once been at RAF Brize Norton to see the returning coffins of the soldiers he sent to fight. :rant:

tell me about it, and full rate council tax......:loopy:

tell me about it, and full rate council tax......:loopy:

:confused: So you think it is acceptable ?

Service acommodation is bad, without a doubt (im currently serving and am due to leave soon.) Most of the acommodation I have stayed in has been dirty, cold, run down and very old. (I have even seen rodents running around inside one building.) However credit where credit is due, there have been a number of recent improvments where I am based (Portsmouth) and elsewhere, with the introduction of *some* new single service en-suite acommodation. The problem that there is is that there is so much bad, old acommodation after years of sucessive governments neglecting our forces that it is going to take VAST sums of money to bring it upto speed, and we all know that defence spending isn't a very fashionable vote-winner, and with Tony and co sending us off to Iraq, Afghanistan, The Balkans et al the defence budget is stretched as it is.
I cannot comment on families acommodation as I have no first hand experience of it but it is my understanding that things are slowly improving in certain areas. Again, years and years of neglect are going to require years and years of investment.

Stormy, whats your views on the fact Tony Blair, or any senior Government figure for that matter, has not had the common decency to be part of the arrival ceremony of the coffins back to RAF Brize Norton.

:confused: So you think it is acceptable ?

absolutely not.

I believe that the people who work for the good of the country ie - soldiers, nurses etc, firefighters, should be treated (and paid) so much better than they currently are.

absolutely not.

I believe that the people who work for the good of the country ie - soldiers, nurses etc, firefighters, should be treated (and paid) so much better than they currently are.

Sorry Jen thought the :loopy: was aimed at my post. :thumbsup:

Stormy, whats your views on the fact Tony Blair, or any senior Government figure for that matter, has not had the common decency to be part of the arrival ceremony of the coffins back to RAF Brize Norton.

I think its pretty terrible, he could have at least been to one. But having said that, it doesn't suprise me one bit. Big T is far too busy enjoying holidays in Miami to get bogged down with trivial stuff such as this.

This is terrible and I can confirm how bad accommodation is at a certain airbase in North Yorkshire. The shared accommodation there is comparitable to something from a film from the second world war. Really, it's that bad. Although, saying that, the marriage accommodation is pretty new and looks in decent condition so it's not all bad.

I stayed in an officer's mess at a barracks which shall remain nameless but it's fairly well known and not for pleasant reasons. Even there, in the middle of February there was no heating so it was freezing and the washing facilities were disgusting (all the tiles were cracked and mouldy and the bath was filthy). The rooms themselves weren't bad. They were very basic and dated but I would have thought that's to be expected. Being in the forces you don't expect a cushy luxury pad but you'd expect basic levels of maintenance, repair and cleanliness.

On entering and leaving married quarters (RAF 1970's) all quarters were checked by yourself,1 officer and clerk of works.The check on leaving was far stricter,everything had to be spotless and serviceable.But I suppose now with all our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan the Government can't be bothered with the ones left behind.Blair is more interested in interfering in other countries than looking after the people who gave him his job in the first place.
Slightly OT here,what is the contribution to global warming of all the extra military vehicles and a/c to the above 2 places,and Blair swanning all round the world,rather than sorting this country out?