Free Tickets For Forces

[Georgeios]

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/115308-david-c...roops-campaign/

I know there was comments made on the subject (Birdog Weve put that one to bed lol) but just want to see what you guys think of it..

For the Record, I paid full price for my ticket... Well I paid what was asked..

[DornochCaley]

I dont think they should get free tickets IMO. If they get free tickets then so should nurses, Doctors, police ect.

One thing i cant see happening is them being given free tickets to Celtic games. That will cause more trouble than anyone would be able to cope with.

[Georgeios]

I get what your saying DC but one thing you have to keep in mind is Doc, Nurses and the likes arent being killed weekly in the line of there duty... they are a different kind of public servant..

[Guest birdog]

I really do not see why armed forces should get free tickets or concessions for anything, as far as I am concerned this is just another method of bribing people to join in with unjustified combat which our government has entered into.

Forces personnel make a career choice when they take the Queen's shilling, they know the risks and rewards when they enter the recruiting office and sign their lives away for 22 years. These guys are paid well for their skills and receive free training which they can carry forward to civilian life, they also receive an enviable pension at the end of their time.

If there was still national service or conscription then I would be of a different mind but for volunteers to receive this level of freebies for doing the governments dirty work is not understandable in my mind.

There was a thread on these forums about piracy which a member decided to make light of, there are currently more than 200 civilian seamen held captive in Somalia but if someone on here made light of the fact that soldiers had been taken prisoner by insurgents in a foreign land then there would be understandable outrage. As an island nation 90-95% of our imports reach us by sea but no concessions are made for seamen who navigate through pirate infested waters and who face one of the lowest life expectancies of any profession.

Police officers are increasingly facing more and more violent risks in their every day jobs yet these guys do not receive concessions, firefighters face danger every day yet do not receive concessions. There are many men and women who face many dangerous situations to provide a service for us but their contributions are not recognised in the same way that armed service personnel do and most of these people are armed with little more than their wits in their every day jobs. Why should some people be rewarded more than others for their career choice?

I can't even get income protection insurance because my job is regarded as too high risk.

[SMEE]

I sit firmly in the NO camp. For reasons already Stated by Birdog and Dornoch Caley

[Georgeios]

Queen's shilling, ive been ripped off, i never got no shilling..... Ive made my point on why i beleve its a good thing all the same.. discuss

[Guest birdog]

I get what your saying DC but one thing you have to keep in mind is Doc, Nurses and the likes arent being killed weekly in the line of there duty... they are a different kind of public servant..

Tell that to the family of the doctor who put himself at risk coming out of retirement to ease the strain put on the NHS due H1N1. He died a week after going back to work.

Queen's shilling, ive been ripped off, i never got no shilling..... Ive made my point on why i beleve its a good thing all the same.. discuss

Were you not given a day's pay the day you signed up? Or is that just the army who receive that? I know that it is still one of the traditions of old which survive within the army at least.

Edited August 12, 2009 by birdog

[DornochCaley]

Georgeios. I can totally see where you are coming from. But i just cant agree with it. I think they should pay as much as the next man/woman. IMO. When you go to football games, you are as equal as the next person beside you. Your occupation shouldnt be considered. Football is to get away from all that pish. Its an escape. The only exeptions are children, Old people and Disabled people. Obvious why for reasons the people i just stated. But going to a football game, it doesnt matter if you are a binman and the guy beside you is a dishwasher, you are there to enjoy the football and get enthralled with the passion of the game.

[Georgeios]

we havent been around long enough to have traditions, just daft bad habbits... Im sure scotty will be on soon, I will say one thing, In canada they know how to honer there fallen.. we are getting there but I saw a report on when the Canada brought back some fallen and it moved me just reading it.

On the other hand as well If I (We) didnt opt for the job i do, then National service would be brought in.... I bet you consider this.... Renagade with a rifle.....

[Yngwie]

I would certainly like to see his miltary battle tactics and formations.

[Guest birdog]

Forces personnel make a career choice when they take the Queen's shilling, they know the risks and rewards when they enter the recruiting office and sign their lives away for 22 years.

If there was still national service or conscription then I would be of a different mind but for volunteers to receive this level of freebies for doing the governments dirty work is not understandable in my mind.

we havent been around long enough to have traditions, just daft bad habbits... Im sure scotty will be on soon, I will say one thing, In canada they know how to honer there fallen.. we are getting there but I saw a report on when the Canada brought back some fallen and it moved me just reading it.

On the other hand as well If I (We) didnt opt for the job i do, then National service would be brought in.... I bet you consider this.... Renagade with a rifle.....

I agree with you in this post but I have highlighted my thoughts on this in my original post.

[DornochCaley]

Damn.....Never thought of that.....We would be better under the rule of Bin Laden!

[Scotty]

I have enormous respect for members of the armed forces who put themselves in harms way to do their job and will always support the troops (but not some of the wars that the politicians have decided they will fight). However, I also have a similar respect for members of other professions such as the emergency services or medical professionals who have to perform tasks or see sights every day that would turn most of our stomachs.

Is it any easier (physically or psychologically) for a police officer or fireman to clean up human roadkill from a motorway than it is for a soldier to deal with the after effects of an IED ? Are either of those easier than the nurse or doctor who has to tell a child and their parents that they have terminal cancer and then deal with the sometimes long slow process of deterioration that inevitably ends in a devastating emotional outburst at the moment of death. I dont think so.

I appreciate that I work in a "normal" job and face little or none of these challenges, but that was my choice, just as it was the choice of the people in these other professions to be a member of the Army, Navy, or Air Force. We do not have conscription or national service and we do not have a system like Cuba where university graduates are told where they will work for the first few years (to pay off their 'free' university education) so they all have the opportunity to choose.

If a club or business chooses to extend some form of incentive for members of the armed forces or for emergency service personnel then you wont find me complaining but equally, I dont think it should be rammed down throats as a fundamental right that can be demanded.

[Guest birdog]

I don't want to take away from the job our servicemen and women are doing, they are to be admired and respected.

The thing is that in any other conflict or police action our boys and girls have performed we have not had the government telling us how we have to honour these guys. I have very close members of my family in the forces and I have ultimate respect for them. The thing is, with these conflicts, the public do not see the waste of resources or of young life as justified. A large proportion even see these current conflicts as unlawful, this is NO reflection on the guys and girls doing their best and obeying orders. What we are seeing at the moment is MPs spreading propaganda and making us feel guilty for not backing the government's actions. The public never asked for our troops to enter these zones and because we do not accept the government's decisions in the way that previous generations did they have to deflect their guilt on to us.

Where were the free tickets for servicemen during the first Gulf war? Where were they for the Falklands vets? Where were they for those serving in Ulster? These are deflection tactics, you guys are being used as pawns in more ways than one, you all have my respect but your bosses do not.

[Scotty]

Im sure scotty will be on soon, I will say one thing, In canada they know how to honer there fallen.. we are getting there but I saw a report on when the Canada brought back some fallen and it moved me just reading it.

I would agree that Canada does do this with extreme reverence. I think there have been 127 deaths of serving soldiers in Afghanistan and the Canadians - more specifically Ontarians and Torontonians - have embraced a procedure that happens every time a body is brought back.

All fallen personnel are flown from Kandahar, where there is a solemn ramp service as the body or bodies are loaded on a plane, and flown to CFB Trenton which is a fair distance east of Toronto. They are then taken by road to the coroner's office in downtown Toronto for a mandatory autopsy.

The procession travels along a stretch of the 401 highway (and then another highway to downtown). The stretch of the 401 they go along has been renamed as the "Highway of Heroes" and virtually all bridges and overpasses are filled with members of the public, or members of other services such as police, fire, paramedics etc who will wave Canada flags, salute or stand there in solemn silence. It is certainly a big deal where the fallen are concerned.

However, as much as this honour and respect is shown to the dead, I do not believe there are many, if any, concessions made for serving soldiers who come back alive and well. I think they did get free travel on trains on one particular day, and maybe some businesses give them something and I can recall one of the Toronto FC games at BMO field had a few soldiers as guests of honour but I dont believe there is a policy in force to give them concessionary admission on a regular basis.

[Georgeios]

they get in to parks and the likes for free, its massive in USA too, anyway David Camron is a leetch and to be honest is going for the votes IMO, but still fair play.

[Guest birdog]

anyway David Camron is a leetch and to be honest is going for the votes IMO, but still fair play.

This is the crux of the matter, do you not feel that to play with the lives of British service personnel for votes, oil and opium is to be condemned?

There was never the need to give freebies away to forces in peacetime or any previous conflict that I can recall, I feel betrayed that the lives and work of people like yourself is being used as political bargaining. The government should be supplying the tools needed for you guys to do the jobs you are asked to, or better still bring you all home, then there would be no need for cheap tricks like this.

[Georgeios]

I don't want to take away from the job our servicemen and women are doing, they are to be admired and respected.

The thing is that in any other conflict or police action our boys and girls have performed we have not had the government telling us how we have to honour these guys. I have very close members of my family in the forces and I have ultimate respect for them. The thing is, with these conflicts, the public do not see the waste of resources or of young life as justified. A large proportion even see these current conflicts as unlawful, this is NO reflection on the guys and girls doing their best and obeying orders. What we are seeing at the moment is MPs spreading propaganda and making us feel guilty for not backing the government's actions. The public never asked for our troops to enter these zones and because we do not accept the government's decisions in the way that previous generations did they have to deflect their guilt on to us.

Where were the free tickets for servicemen during the first Gulf war? Where were they for the Falklands vets? Where were they for those serving in Ulster? These are deflection tactics, you guys are being used as pawns in more ways than one, you all have my respect but your bosses do not.

well put BD, I beleve that now they are starting to feel the forces should be better treated and are trying to get more for us, the thing is as you have said, it maybe a little to late, I honestly beleve that what Canada was doing for there fallen was a massive kick in the arse to what they were doing for us, and are trying now to make amens...

To be honest however, it the club said that Ft George, Tain, Kinloss Lossiemout and the rest could have tickets, I more than likley wouldnt take them now i have my season tickets and lets face it... thay'd be the cheap seat anyway...

[MrsICTFC]

Interesting topic. I don't think anyone in the armed forces should get free tickets to sport events. Reasons:

1) If they do, then the Police, Fire Brigade etc, should get the same.

2) No one is forced into the army, it is choice.

3) I feel betrayed that the lives and work of people like yourself is being used as political bargaining. The government should be supplying the tools needed for you guys to do the jobs you are asked to, or better still bring you all home, then there would be no need for cheap tricks like this. (Birdog's post)

[Georgeios]

Interesting topic. I don't think anyone in the armed forces should get free tickets to sport events. Reasons:

1) If they do, then the Police, Fire Brigade etc, should get the same.

2) No one is forced into the army, it is choice.

3) I feel betrayed that the lives and work of people like yourself is being used as political bargaining. The government should be supplying the tools needed for you guys to do the jobs you are asked to, or better still bring you all home, then there would be no need for cheap tricks like this. (Birdog's post)

3) this is not IMO a reason for the free tickets.. more a reason why we maybe should, I think BD's point is to take us all home and away from harm, Its not tax payers money thats being used to fund the tickets eather its the clubs that are doing it

[Guest birdog]

3) this is not IMO a reason for the free tickets.. more a reason why we maybe should, I think BD's point is to take us all home and away from harm, Its not tax payers money thats being used to fund the tickets eather its the clubs that are doing it

It is a little of both George, you should never have been there in the first place but David Cameron is using his political clout to ask for these concessions and using the guilt of watching young boys, men and women coming home with Union flags draped over their coffins to inspire free tickets for those service personnel who are alive.

The point I really want to get across is that in previous conflicts there was never the need to drum up support because the public were already supporting the action. Now that MPs realise, and the opposition could be doing a lot more to end it, that these conflicts are not supported they have to drum up support for the troops and hopefully turn the public thoughts away from the injustice of the deaths into sympathy. Like I say, the troops (all forces) have my support, the people who put them there do not.

I believe that you guys would swap some free football for decent equipment any day, let the government dig deep for their choices then you can feel a wee bit happier at the match, even if you did pay for the ticket.

[Georgeios]

BD i cant and wont dispute what you said.. I dont what im told sir lol

[WYNESS101]

I dont think they should get free tickets IMO. If they get free tickets then so should nurses, Doctors, police ect.

Police do get free tickets (as they work at the games). They get to watch football and get paid for it

[MrsICTFC]

3) this is not IMO a reason for the free tickets.. more a reason why we maybe should, I think BD's point is to take us all home and away from harm, Its not tax payers money thats being used to fund the tickets eather its the clubs that are doing it

It would be more beneficial for the clubs to donate money to the army to pay for more equipment. I am sure the likes of Celtic and Rangers would love to think that they used money on free tickets when really they could have used it for a better cause i.e. better equipment?

Birdog is right in what he is saying. We aren't stupid, David Cameron is trying to focus the attention away from the deaths of many innocent men, fighting for what, i'd love to know....

[CaleyMad]

I dont know if it has already been mentioned but...

Free things such as tickets and RAF houses are kind of advertising vacancies to kill people. She should get a wage like everyone else and thats it!!!! If you work in Asda, you dont get free concert tickets and houses.