I am a veteran who, unfortunately, has made some very bad choices and decisions since leaving the Army and has spent the past 21 years in prison.
I’m writing to commend the sergeant major of the unit in which I served in the 1980s – WO2 Martin Porter of 5 (Gibraltar 1779-83) Battery, Royal Artillery.
I have been trying to find a photograph dating from 1989 of the whole battery as was for years. It was taken on the parade square of Roberts Barracks, Larkhill.
Most of my letters were not replied to, until recently, after my eldest daughter encouraged me to write again.
To my surprise I received an immediate response from WO2 Porter.
This man‘s words truly touched me. He told me that despite my bad choices I will always be part of the 5 Bty brotherhood and that he’d personally try to help me in my quest.
Thanks to him, the photograph in question has now been located and a copy should be with me soon. Martin also sent me some old prints that included my image from the regiment’s collection, which was greatly appreciated.
More than that, though, his kind words have given me so much hope for the future and will stay with me after my eventual release. – Name and address supplied
I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the responses to letters in this section of an otherwise excellent magazine.
Every time someone raises an issue, the response from the subject matter expert nearly always quotes back the policy, which I suspect the author is aware of, hence their letter.
Inconsistent terms and conditions, and failure of policy to stay abreast of modern life, are frequent issues so a tin-ear response quoting a JSP is not the answer.
The personnel who have taken time to write in have raised an issue that is outside their chain of command but the impression we get from these replies is the Army is not listening and not willing to understand the problem.
The impact of this failure will be disgruntled personnel who stop raising issues and, ultimately, use their feet. – Lt Col Guy Cooper, REME
Consultancy firm McKinsey has agreed to pay more than $600 million to the US government over its role in boosting sales of an addictive opioid painkiller.
Type “McKinsey” into a news search engine and numerous judicial investigations and allegations of impropriety the company has faced will be revealed.
This same consultancy firm has been paid to provide high level advice to Army Headquarters, including on the implementation of Agile, a system of working and improving productivity within the organisation.
I’m not sure what a company like this has to offer an organisation like the Army, which holds integrity as one of its core values. – Name and address supplied
