First Defence Speech in House of Commons

19th March 2007

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BRITAIN'S Armed Forces have never been busier. Operational deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq call upon the highest levels of training from our armed forces. They have never let us down. But are we letting them down?

The British Forcces Foundation Director, Mark Cann, will be one of three speakers at a First Defence event entitled They Fight for Us, Do We Fight for Them? He will be joined by Mark Harper MP, Shadow Minister for Veteran’s Affairs, and Maj Gen Andrew Cumming CBE, Controller SSAFA.

It takes place on Monday 19th March in Committee Room 7, House of Commons
(enter via St. Stephen’s Entrance) between 18.30 and 20.00.

Among the questions being raised about the welfare of servicemen and women: How do we support them when their careers are forced to end involuntarily? What happens when they are wounded on operations? Who looks after families following a bereavement? How do we compare with other NATO allies when it comes to pensions and allowances?

There has been much written in the media about how we treat our Armed Forces once the battles are over and personal battles for survival begin. The aim of the First Defence event is to address these issues with three people who are constantly dealing with these and related issues.