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Armed Forces

My Lords, I am most happy to add my wholehearted support for all the men and women who have served or are serving right now in the regular and volunteer forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The bravery and dedication of these troops and the valiant support of their families is something of which we should all be extremely proud. We welcome the White Paper and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, for initiating such a crucial debate at this time. The military covenant states that: "““Soldiers will be called upon to make personal sacrifices—including the ultimate sacrifice—in the service of the Nation. In putting the needs of the Nation and””," the armed services, "““before their own, they forgo some of the rights enjoyed by those outside the Armed Forces””." In return there must be an, "““unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility””," between the, "““nation, the Army and each individual soldier””," sailor and airman to compensate and reward those brave service personnel who risk their lives to protect our nation. A recent report by Demos, however, said that the military covenant had been ““damaged almost beyond repair”” and a new compact must be established between civil and military. At a time when our forces are being asked to fight in two wars, and in light of the fact that the British military death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan recently reached 300, this is a disgraceful situation to be in and must be rectified. Are the basic standards of the Armed Forces degenerating because of the pressures of current commitments, and because of the lack of time to carry out anything more than essential short-term training? Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, recently said that when, "““you are committing young people to battle, they have to be given the best””." We must acknowledge that our troops do not always have the best. By 15 November this year, 36 of our military personnel had been killed in the lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers. Can we be assured that they will be used only inside defended military compounds and bases from now on? I do not believe that commanders in the field have as much choice of vehicles as they should and are, with their troops, therefore in greater danger than is absolutely necessary. It is therefore reassuring that the Minister seems to have taken this on board. Let us hope her colleagues will follow her lead. The Oxfordshire coroner, Andrew Walker, has said that, "““to send soldiers into a combat zone without basic equipment is unforgivable, inexcusable and a breach of trust between soldiers and those who govern them””." The vulnerable Snatch vehicles make up a part of this and it is vital that more should be done. The problem is further exacerbated by a persistent shortage of battlefield helicopters, which could also be used as an alternative to the more susceptible Snatch vehicles. I am glad that special arrangements with the French will be carried through. However, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence has recently reported that the Government have no plans to accelerate the Future Lynx helicopter programme despite the fact that the: "““Future Lynx helicopter could be ready to enter service by 2011””." Now it appears that it will be 2014 and 2015, with the full complement not in service until after 2017. Perhaps the Government can explain the reasoning behind this seemingly relaxed approach for providing essential and long overdue new equipment. After six months’ service, soldiers are given a period of time to adjust between life on the front line and what life will be like on leave. Those who have served will know exactly how necessary this decompression time is. As the Overseas Territories Minister stated in another place, Foreign Office staff are also required to take decompression breaks after their time in Afghanistan or Iraq. This is very sensible and perfectly right. However, I wonder why the Foreign Office staff are given decompression breaks of 10 to 14 days when those serving on the front line in the Armed Forces are given, on average, only 24 hours. Can the Government account for the reason why? The last Strategic Defence Review was conducted over a decade ago. Do the Government feel it is right that we are basing our requirements on an assessment that was conducted before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had even begun? Do they not feel that it might be appropriate to carry out another review now, and perhaps adopt the American system of conducting a defence review every four years, so that our assessments about the requirements of our troops are kept up to date and accurate? Would the Government not accept that this would be sensible? When we get back into power, we will initiate an immediate Strategic Defence Review. Sir Kevin O’Donoghue stated that the crackdown on military spending will not affect the two £4 billion aircraft carriers—all well and good. However, in view of the fact that these aircraft carriers are useless without the new Joint Strike Fighter, will the Government give us the latest news on the availability of the JSF? My noble friend Lord Lyell asked pertinent questions about this. I presume that the Navy will be able to find properly trained sailors to man the carriers as they come online. Can the Minister assure us that there will be early deliveries of sufficient JSFs to provide training facilities for air crew in advance of the main deliveries, so that there will be at least one carrier and enough fighters and pilots arriving at the same time? The debate has thrown open many interesting issues, and there have been several good speeches. I draw attention to my noble friend Lord James, who made a most thoughtful speech, particularly on the subject of the air bridge. My noble friend Lord Lyell mentioned the work in hand at Wellington barracks, announced by the Minister. We are all pleased about this; it really was a mess when we visited it. The noble Lord, Lord Burnett, made some pertinent, interesting and wise remarks, with which we would like to be associated, concerning the Royal Marines. My noble friend Lord James was concerned about asbestosis on the Royal Yacht. Are the sailors who crewed her being properly monitored to see whether they have been affected? He also mentioned the Hercules fleet. Can the Minister answer his concerns on that? We are grateful for the Command Paper, but, as my noble friend said, it does not go far enough, and many more issues need urgent answers. I hope that the concerns raised by this debate will mean that action will be taken to ensure that changes are made to protect our troops, better serve their families and fulfil the military covenant.