Britain's starving soldiers!

The following is from a report in today's Independent on Sunday, linked here: The analysis, described by General Dannatt as "a comprehensive and accurate portrayal of the views and concerns of the Army at large", states: "More and more single-income soldiers in the UK are now close to the UK government definition of poverty." It reveals that "a number of soldiers were not eating properly because they had run out of money by the end of the month". Commanders are attempting to tackle the problem through "Hungry Soldier" schemes, under which destitute soldiers are given loans to enable them to eat. The scheme symbolises a change from the tradition of soldiers getting three square meals a day for free. Now hard-up soldiers have to fill out a form which entitles them to a voucher. The cost is deducted from their future wages, adding to the problems of soldiers on low pay. The controversial Pay as You Dine (PAYD) regime, which requires soldiers not on active duty to pay for their meals, has seen commanding officers inundated with complaints from soldiers unhappy at the quality of food that they get and the amount of paperwork involved. By contrast glance at this column from the Sunday Times by Minette Marrin, linked here, titled, "Oh how I love to throw away good food" from which comes this: It was a joy, when I was first married and in charge of my own fridge, to throw food away recklessly. When I tore the heart out of a lettuce and dumped the rest in the bin, I felt I had come of age. Frugality is a harsh discipline; there cannot be many people who are even capable of it these days. For one thing, most people can’t or won’t cook. I am grateful that for now, at least, we can in this country afford to be wasteful. Clearly these items cannot come from people living in the same country, can they? Unhappily they do, so which then is now the real Britain, that of our hungry and inadequately tended servicemen or the South East based Sunday Times writer? Which one will the country decide David Cameron inhabits?