The Military Covenant

The Military Covenant states that in exchange for their military service and their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice, soldiers should receive the nation’s support. Exploring the concept’s invention by the Army in the late 1990s, its migration to the civilian sphere from 2006 and its subsequent entrenchment in public policy, Ingham seeks to understand the Covenant’s progress from the esoteric confines of Army doctrine to national recognition. Drawing on interviews with senior commanders, policy-makers and representatives of Forces’ charities, this study highlights how the Army deployed the Military Covenant to convey the pressure on the institution caused by the concurrent combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. While achieving a better deal for soldiers whose sacrifice became all too apparent, the Military Covenant licensed unprecedented incursion into politics by senior commanders, enabling them to out-manoeuvre the Blair-Brown governments and to challenge the existing norms within Britain’s civil-military relationship. As British Forces prepare to leave Afghanistan, this study considers the value Britain accords to military service and whether civilian society will continue to uphold its Covenant with those who have served the nation.

The Military Covenant states that in exchange for their military service and their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice, soldiers should receive the nation's support. Exploring the concept's invention by the Army in the late 1990s, its migration to the civilian sphere from 2006 and its subsequent entrenchment in public policy, Ingham seeks to understand the Covenant's progress from the esoteric confines of Army doctrine to national recognition.

There is nothing new about the military covenant, a freshly minted term for something that's been around for as long as soldiering itself. 'Tommy' may have to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country. But what will his country do for him? Over centuries the covenant has been variously honoured and ignored. Confronted daily with flag-draped coffins, shameful stories of inadequate kit and shocking images of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan: what exactly are we doing to honour those who sacrifice all in the service of their country? In Tommy This an' Tommy That Andrew Murrison uses his perspective as a senior Service doctor and frontline politician to set the events of the past ten years in historical context. He charts the ways in which societal and political changes have impacted on the wellbeing of uniformed men and women, and the nation's changing sense of obligation towards the military. Crucially he asks what the future holds for the military covenant.

The Military Covenant states that in exchange for their military service and their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice, soldiers should receive the nation’s support. Exploring the concept’s invention by the Army in the late 1990s, its migration to the civilian sphere from 2006 and its subsequent entrenchment in public policy, Ingham seeks to understand the Covenant’s progress from the esoteric confines of Army doctrine to national recognition. Drawing on interviews with senior commanders, policy-makers and representatives of Forces’ charities, this study highlights how the Army deployed the Military Covenant to convey the pressure on the institution caused by the concurrent combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. While achieving a better deal for soldiers whose sacrifice became all too apparent, the Military Covenant licensed unprecedented incursion into politics by senior commanders, enabling them to out-manoeuvre the Blair-Brown governments and to challenge the existing norms within Britain’s civil-military relationship. As British Forces prepare to leave Afghanistan, this study considers the value Britain accords to military service and whether civilian society will continue to uphold its Covenant with those who have served the nation.

How the MoD has broken the covenant with the military over the past 25 years; an informal agreement that is underpinned by a promise to provide 'adequate safeguards'.

This is the original, self-published and authorised version of Breaking the Military Covenant - Who speaks for the dead? All proceeds will be donated to Help for Heroes. Savings at the expense of safety have killed too many of our Servicemen. This book discusses a number of fatal accidents that occurred between 1987 and 2016, all linked by this maladministration. They include: Sea King ASaC mid-air, Tornado ZG710/Patriot shootdown, Snatch Land Rovers, Kajaki Dam, Nimrod XV230 and Hercules XV179. The evidence concealed from inquiries, inquests and families is revealed for the first time. Protecting the guilty places our Servicemen at greater risk. They deserve better. All proceeds to Help for Heroes

Akenson brings to light critical similarities among three politically troubled nations: South Africa, Israel, and Northern Ireland.

This book analyses contemporary war commemoration in Britain and Russia. Focusing on the political aspects of remembrance, it explores the instrumentalisation of memory for managing civil-military relations and garnering public support for conflicts. It explains the nexus between remembrance, militarisation and nationalism in modern societies.