The Brits are good allies and I enjoyed serving with them in AFGHN....I am all in favor of supporting them regardless of what the Idjit-in-Charge in WASH DC might think....POTUS hates the Brits and he acts like a petulant child to them....He holds a grudge about the alledged mistreatment of his grandfather in Kenya at the hands of British Military. I'm sorry if that was what happened but you can't take that out on the whole of Britain.This issue sounds like someone in the Brit Military Personnel area needs to be sacked instead of the warfighters....This is "rubbish" as my Brit friends would say...Cut the Bureaucrats and keep the foot soldiers out there doing the jobs they excel at.....that's how you save some money.
We need less pencil pushers and more men willing to put to risk their lives to defend our freedoms.....That's for sure.
MoD apologises after firing 38 long-serving British troops by E-MAIL (including one to a soldier serving on the front line)
By Daily Mail Reporter
15th February 2011
The Ministry of Defence has apologised after a reported 38 soldiers - including one serving on the Afghan front line - were sacked by email.
The troops, all of whom are warrant officers, were told they were being dismissed as ‘the Army has to make significant cutbacks’.
The MoD has been labelled ‘shameful and callous’ for the move, which followed the news that one in four of the RAF’s new pilots are to be sacked.
The soldiers in question have completed a combined 836 years of service and include a Royal Tank Regiment serviceman stationed on the front line in Afghanistan.
The men were on a rolling contract called the Long Service List but advised to ‘start planning your resettlement’ as the news of their dismissal was broken with an email.
One of the veterans – who has served five tours of duty – told The Sun: ‘It was out of the blue. We're disgusted.
‘Essentially 38 of us are “sacked” having spent our lives in the military. It's not good - five tours of duty and sacked by email.’
The message, sent by Major Andy Simpson, was reported to have said: ‘In my capacity as the Career Manager for the Versatile Engagement Long Career (VEng LC) and Long Service List (LSL), I write to notify you that with regret, I must issue you with 12 months' Notice of Termination.
‘As I'm sure you are aware the Army has to make significant cutbacks and we as the VEng LC & LSL are expected to play our part in reductions.’
Defence Secretary Liam Fox said today he was 'furious' over the sacking by email of 38 soldiers - including one serving on the front line in Afghanistan.
He demanded an explanation of how it happened, saying this was 'no way' to treat armed forces personnel.
'I am furious that such a situation should occur,' he said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence.
'This is no way to treat our armed forces personnel. I want to know how this was allowed to happen and what measures will be put in place to prevent this from happening again.'
An MoD spokesman said: ‘We apologise for the distress that this will have caused.
‘Commanding officers have now spoken to the soldiers concerned to ensure that they receive all necessary advice and support.’
Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said the soldiers had been treated in a 'callous, cold-hearted, soulless' way and called on Government ministers to take responsibility for the incident.
Mr Murphy told the Today programme: 'We can't halt every redundancy in the Armed Forces, but this is no way to treat men and women who have served their country fearlessly for so many years.
'Sacking anybody by email is wrong, but sacking our Armed Forces in this way is absolutely unforgivable.
'Ministers should explain what happened, take responsibility for what has happened and clarify - were any of these soldiers serving in Afghanistan when they received an email saying "Start planning your retirement now"?'
Mr Murphy added: 'There is a problem here. The Government is running the MoD in a shambolic way. It has had a defence review led by cuts, rather than by our military and foreign policy needs.
'There has been a rush. Mistakes are being made, some of them very serious.'
Bravo Two Zero author and SAS veteran Andy McNab added: ‘Young lads will see that and think, “If that's how they treat the guys that have given their lives to the unit, how will they treat me?”
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