[jambutty]

Originally Posted by piltymon

Could we have a topic about war veterans please? I'm interested in what the general public think they deserve upon returning from war. All wars are of interest from the World wars to Vietnam, The Gulf war and The Argentinian war. Should we treat them any better than anyone else and, should we treat them even better after a particularly bloody war?

All men and women who volunteered or were conscripted into the armed forces should be rewarded for their courage with a decent armed forces pension whether or not they got involved in an actual armed conflict. You only got a pension if you served a minimum of 21 years.

Those who come back home mentally or physically disabled should receive a full disability pension so that they can live out the rest of their lives comfortably above the poverty line. For those who did not come back, the surviving spouse until his/her death or any children if the spouse is deceased and they are in full time education, should receive a pension well above the poverty line.

Most ex-servicemen and women would be highly embarrassed if they were to be classed as heroes and saw their own involvement as only doing what had to be done. However most ex-servicemen and women would be quietly pleased if for just a few seconds each year the civilian population remembered the sacrifices that the armed forces made.