Month: November 2010

Cadet school

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Controversial plans to radically expand military cadet corps in English state secondary schools are being pushed forward by Ed Balls, the Children’s Secretary, apparently backed by No 10. The plans were the idea of Quentin Davies, a Labour MP who defected from the Tories last year, and come on the back of a government-commissioned review of “civil and military relations”.

Learning military drill and shooting are two of the core elements of the cadet programme. But anti-gun campaigners say that teaching teenagers to shoot would simply exacerbate the growing problem of gun crime among young people.

The government has been repeatedly claiming that it is “getting tough” on guns and youth crime, but how can this be consistent with encouraging weapons training in schools?

At the moment, just 60 of the school-based Combined Cadet Force (CCF) are based in comprehensive schools, with 200 forces currently in private and grammar schools; this is despite these being just 10% of schools in England. Under the new proposals, state schools that do not set up a cadet system will encourage pupils to attend a community cadet force instead. There are currently over 130, 000 young people involved in the cadet forces, between the ages of 12 and 18.… Read more

Poppy Appeal is a political tool to support current wars

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The true meaning of the poppy is being forgotten as it becomes a political tool to support current wars, a former elite soldier has claimed. Ben Griffin, the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat, also said the use of the word “hero” to describe soldiers glorified war and was an “attempt to stifle criticism” of conflicts the UK is currently fighting.

The true meaning of the poppy is being forgotten as it becomes a political tool to support current wars, a former elite soldier has claimed.

Ben Griffin, the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat, also said the use of the word “hero” to describe soldiers glorified war and was an “attempt to stifle criticism” of conflicts the UK is currently fighting.

Mr Griffin’s claims echo an increasing body of opinion that the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal’s promotion by key political and cultural figures is undermining the true message of Remembrance Day.

The Royal British Legion began using the poppy as a symbol for fundraising in the 1920s. Money used goes to help wounded servicemen past and serving and their families.

It also marks Remembrance Day, held on the second Sunday in November, which is usually the Sunday nearest to November 11, the date in 1918 on which World War I ended.… Read more

Poppy appeal’s original aims being subverted, veterans complain

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A group of veterans from conflicts including the Falklands and Northern Ireland have complained of the increasing glitz and glamour of the annual poppy appeal and of it being hijacked to marshall public support behind current campaigns.

Critics say event is drum-roll for current conflicts but Royal British Legion says new approach has raised awareness

A group of veterans from conflicts including the Falklands and Northern Ireland have complained of the increasing glitz and glamour of the annual poppy appeal and of it being hijacked to marshall public support behind current campaigns.

In a letter in tomorrow’s Guardian, the veterans argue that the original aim of the appeal as a sombre commemoration of the war dead and the horrors of conflict was in danger of being lost amid the marketing spin and tub-thumping political aims.

“A day that should be about peace and remembrance is turned into a month-long drum-roll of support for current wars. This year’s campaign has been launched with showbiz hype. The true horror and futility of war is forgotten and ignored,” they write.

The Royal British Legion organises the annual appeal, as well as events such as the festival of remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall and the service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall – this year on Sunday 14 November – and hopes to raise £36m, £2m more than last year.… Read more