Defence chiefs have agreed that troops with six or more decorations will now be given cash for any extras to be courtmounted – a process which sees military sewing experts secure them to a backing board with specially stiffened ribbons.
Personnel can claim up to a tenner for each award they have. Soldiers are already given cash – and officers receive uniform tax relief – to have medals displayed using the less rigorous swingmounting process. But the latest move, which brings the army into line with the other two services, comes with many formations now demanding that medals be displayed in the smarter way. Payments will be backdated to February 6, 2023, to help those with the Coronation Medal.
The move does not apply to troops from the Household Cavalry Regiment and Royal Corps of Army Music who – with frequent ceremonial commitments – already have decorations courtmounted at public expense. Claims, which do not apply to miniatures, must be made via JPA under administrative costs with the ‘court mounting of medals’ as the type of claim.
Support to stay on course Recruits who have previously had a brush with the law need more support to stay on the straight and narrow, research has found. A study funded by the Forces in Mind Trust said recruits who were already known to police were more likely to cause trouble after enlisting – and earlier intervention might help.
Researchers also suggested that anyone with a history of offending should have their mental health needs better examined when they leave the military. But the study found fewer service personnel and vets – just 16 per cent – had criminal convictions compared to a quarter of male civvy equivalents. See fim-trust.org for more.
