Caroline Nokes, the Conservative candidate for Romsey and Southampton North, has welcomed David Cameron's announcement of the establishment of a special commission into the Military Covenant.
The Covenant, which is a special agreement between the armed services and Government, with the main underlying principle being that because service personnel make sacrifices and ultimately risk their lives for their country, it is incumbent upon the Nation, including the Government and society as a whole, to make sure that they and their families are well cared for.
The covenant has been in place for hundreds of years, but recently there have been growing concerns expressed that the covenant is being broken.The appointment of a part-time Defence Secretary, over stretch of the armed forces, poor accommodation for service families, adequate health provision for veterans and a failure to protect service personnel with adequate and appropriate equipment have all been cited as evidence that the Covenant is not being upheld.
The objective of this new commission is to study what has gone wrong and devise a feasible and affordable policy for David Cameron and the Shadow Cabinet. The experts who have agreed to participate have been drawn from a wide range of ranks and they will seek to get the public involved in their review via the website www.militarycovenantcommission.com.
The commission will be chaired by Frederick Forsyth CBE and includes Major Dan Byles (Retd), Joe Fairbarn MBE, Rear Admiral Iain Henderson CB CBE DL (Rtd), Sir John Keegan OBE, Air Commodore Allan Vaughan OBE (Rtd), Simon Weston OBE, Captain Ellie Whyte (Retd).
David Cameron, on launching the Commission commented:
"We ask our service personnel to do extraordinary things. In doing so, they make many sacrifices, including in somecases their lives. So it is only right that we do all that we can to ensure that they are well looked after and that theirfamilies are cared for. It is not much to ask from us in return for what they do for us. This is principle that underpins theMilitary Covenant.
"Are we as a society doing enough to fulfil this Covenant today? I doubt it. When I receive first-hand accounts of howservice families have to put up with conditions that would be simply unacceptable in civilian life, I feel ashamed that weas a country can ask so much but give so little.
"So I have asked Frederick Forsyth to lead a Commission that will look at how the Military Covenant can be restored.The Commissioners are all experts in defence matters and together are well placed to examine the many issues that havebeen neglected for so long – housing, healthcare, support for service families and their children, and improving thequality of life for veterans. It will take a look at how Government and society can improve their attitude towards ourArmed Forces and mend the Military Covenant."
Caroline Nokes the Conservative candidate or Romsey and Southampton North at the next General Election commented:
"I am really pleased that the needs and concerns of the armed forces are being looked at in this way. The Military Covenant is a historic promise to our service personnel, and we owe it to them to ensure that it is upheld."
Members of the Romsey and Southampton North Conservative Patrons Club met at the home of Caroline Nokes MP over the weekend for drinks and discussi
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