The Sandbag Times Issue No:58

NEWS
Johnny Mercer MP appointed Minister of Veterans
Story: Plymouth Live
Plymouth Moor View MP
Johnny Mercer has been appointed
Minister for Veterans
of the Royal Navy, Army and
RAF - and will head-up a new
Government department dedicated
to the issues they face.
The new Office of Veterans’
Affairs will sit inside the Cabinet
Office and will be jointly
run by Mr Mercer - who is
now a Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State in both
Image: Greg Martin
the MOD and the Cabinet
Office - and the Cabinet-attending
paymaster general
Oliver Dowden.
Mr Mercer, a former captain
in the British Army, will be
asked to focus on ending the
legal pursuit of former service
personnel, amid anger in the
Conservative party over the
treatment of those who served
during Northern Ireland’s
Troubles.
MOD Announces Pay Rise For The Armed Forces
Story: Forces.net
The Defence Secretary has announced
an above-inflation, 2.9% pay rise for the
Armed Forces.
It will be implemented in September’s
salaries and backdated to 1 April 2019.
The lowest-paid soldiers, sailors and
airmen and women will receive a 6%
increase to bring them in line with the
living wage.
This increase means that after basic
training, new and junior personnel will
receive an annual salary of £20,000 a year.
For the ‘average’ salary of personnel (at
Corporal level), the pay rise represents an
annual increase of £995.
Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:
“No soldier, sailor, airman or woman
should be asked to serve our country and
not be properly rewarded, which is why
I’m pleased we have accepted the pay
review body’s recommendation for an
above-inflation rise this year.
More here...
The starting salary for an officer will see
an annual increase of £769.
Army rejects call for mental health checks
Story: BBC News: By Andrew Hosken
The British Army has
rejected calls for mandatory
mental health
screening for serving
soldiers, the BBC has
learned.
Regular screening was
recommended by a coroner
following an inquest
into the deaths of two infantrymen
found hanged
in the same Northern
Ireland barracks. But
in a leaked letter, Gen
Sir Nick Carter, head of
the armed forces, said
screening was “potentially
harmful”.
Human rights charity
Liberty, which represents
the mothers of the
soldiers, said it was concerned
by the decision.
An inquest this year
found that Corporal
James Ross, 30, died
an accidental death in
December 2012, while
the coroner recorded
a verdict of suicide on
the death of Rifleman
Darren Mitchell, 20 - less
than three months later -
in February 2013.
Both men were serving
with the 2nd Battalion
The Rifles and had
previously been in active
service in Afghanistan.
Read more here...
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