Armed Forces Week
On Thursday 16th June, it was a source of great pride to witness the homecoming march of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment through our town. This is the oldest English regiment of the line and the most decorated regiment of the British Army, with 57 Victoria Crosses awarded during its rich history. The march, inspection by the Mayor, Councillor Carol Eade, and the great show of public support were deeply moving.
The British Army’s regimental system of recruitment is a fundamental feature which creates links with local communities. I am sure that we in Crawley will seek to build on last week’s experience and strengthen our association with our local regiment.
It is a sobering fact that in almost every year since the Second World War, British forces have suffered casualties in some part of the world. Our service personnel have had a record of continuous and varied engagement across many different theatres. This record of service reinforces the need to honour the Military Covenant, our duty of care to our armed forces.
Last Thursday, we were able to show our respects to the brave men and women of our armed forces and it was particularly appropriate that we did so in the run-up to Armed Forces Week. On Monday 20th June, for this special week, the Mayor conducted the flag-raising ceremony at the Town Hall. Armed Forces Day itself is on Saturday 25th June.
There is no doubt that the spirit of our armed forces triumphs over adversity and an observer from another era once wrote that, “The British nation can be counted upon to carry through to victory any struggle that it once enters upon no matter how long such a struggle may last or however great the sacrifices that may be necessary or whatever the means that have to be employed; and all this even though the actual military equipment at hand may be utterly inadequate when compared with that of other nations."
The word, “inadequate”, refers equally to quality and quantity, and it should not be this way, but in certain areas it is. Unfortunately, under successive governments, there have been disastrous procurement errors and cost overruns, creating a situation where front-line resources of equipment are too often just not credible – a little of everything and not enough of anything. This creates overstretch for the armed forces in carrying out their tasks. No amount of political spin can get around this point. It is just a lamentable fact.
It is to be hoped that as the economy recovers, some of the glaring gaps in front-line capability can be rectified. This is an essential part of honouring the Military Covenant.
Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of Crawley Borough Council
21st June 2011