I'm probably going to be very controversial here, but I'm wondering why soldiers believe they should be paid compensation for being injured. They each volunteer to enter a job which they know might result in injury or even death. Nobody is conscripted into the British armed forces these days. It's a bit like a boxer entering the ring and then wanting compensation because the other guy hit him.

I can understand claims if they are injured through negligence on the part of the MoD due to them not being given proper kit, but otherwise it's a bit silly. They are in a war zone. They are mainly there by choice. What did they expect to happen? Did they think it was a game?

This has nothing to do with whether or not we approve of the war. It's about people entering a career which they know is life threatening and then complaining that they got hurt. If you don't want to get shot or blown up, don't join the armed forces. What next? Smokers suing the tobacconists because their habit has given them cancer?

This compensation culture has got out of hand.

Can't agree with you there Emma,except for the compensation culture part of course.

If a soldier is injured in the course of their duty then they have a right to know they'll be looked after.
Without compensation we would get to the state where they'd simply refuse to do the dangerous part of the job.
We ask them to put their life on the line,and we cannot guarantee they will not be harmed,but we can guarantee that if they make a sacrifice on our behalf then we will do the decent thing,and compensate them for their loss.

Now think of it this way,without compensation all they will do is scrounge off the state anyway.So it must be best to do the decent thing and pay the debt we owe.Then they can choose how to take their care.

I think you have raised a really important issue Emma Bee and one worthy of discussion.

Personally-I believe governments by nature have a duty of care and therefore compensation should be available to victims of crime.

That compensation factor has however gotten out of hand and as you say-a "culture' has developed around it which is being rorted especially in regards to sex or alleged sex crimes.There are many factors for this-police and politicians haven't helped and have probably encouraged that rort.

I was nearly murdered in a vicious mugging in Portobello Road late one night 25 years ago. I never thought for a minute about claiming compensation even though I could have (and by the way-the detectives who handled the case could not have been more professional or sympathetic..if the perpetuators had been arrested the charge would have been attempted murder).

I realised much later after therapy that I suffered from a certain 'victims' mentality where a victim begins to believe they deserved what they got. The fact that people dive in asap after a crime,for compensation these days worries me.

As for those in the armed forces-the government also has a duty of care towards them even though I don't agree much of the time with decisions made. That means providing them with the right equipment , proper training and so on.

If they are injured in a war such as Afghanistan or Iraq-wars started by US & UK politicians who in my opinion should be at the Hague on trial for-I still reckon those servicemen/women really deserve the very best of care and if necessary, for life.

I have mixed thoughts on this but one overwhelming feeling - how amazing a coincidence was The Street on Monday?

veritas wrote:
I think you have raised a really important issue Emma Bee and one worthy of discussion.

Personally-I believe governments by nature have a duty of care and therefore compensation should be available to victims of crime.

I very largely agree with Emma Bee.

The government sent these people into war situations (for their own self-interest?) and do not want to know when they are killed / injured. (It's bad publicity !). The MoD will release (later today) the numbers seriously injured during July (again something they normally like to keep quiet about).

Charities like "Help the Heroes" exist because the government don't want to know !

I would have slightly more sympathy IF I'd heard one - just one - parent of those killed / injured express ANY remorse for the hundreds of thousands killed and injured BY their sons' actions !

The Iraq Inquiry starts today .... anyone believe that those responsible will be brought to justice ?

Innocent Accused wrote:
.... but we can guarantee that if they make a sacrifice on our behalf .....

Have you forgotten that this illegal war lead to the biggest demonstrations EVER seen on the streets of Britain ?

The numbers who turned out clearly represent only a tiny proportion of the people against this illegal invasion (as the majority would not be able to get to the demonstration due to distance, work committments etc).

Anyone who has made a "sacrifice" has NOT done it on my behalf !

(PS - Would they still be whining if they had all come back safe and sound (still, of course leaving hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead and injured?)

You're blaming the troops for the mess made by the government.
Certain troops have indeed broken the law,but you can't use that as an excuse to deprive them compensation if they suffer as a result of obeying orders.

In many cases the military is the only job available to youngsters in deprived parts of the country.It's easy for more educated people who have had more breaks in life to look down on simple servicemen,but we really do need to see the wider picture.

I visited Iraq as a private citizen back in 2004 to see the real horrors we had comitted there,and I certainly do not blame your average squaddie as a result of this first hand experience,in fact I admire the roles they play even more as a result.

Didn't soldiers from some other country once use the excuse that they were only obeying orders?

It wasn't accepted then. Why should it be accepted now?

Very easy to let one's judgement be clouded by meejah sensationalism,and to mix up those military working in prisons with the frightened teenager out on night patrol in a badly protected vechicle.
As I said I've been there,and the reality certainly doesn't match the hype.Like it or not,we have to have a military otherwise we'd have been swamped by others years ago.Of course the price you pay for that is a certain excess we'd all rather do without,but is impossible to remove without changing the whole ethos.