P o s t b a g Postbag


THE RAF HAVE MY SUPPORT Having just heard several media reports relating to your personnel suffering verbal abuse when out and about in uniform, I feel strongly enough to write and express my personal admiration and pride in our fantastic service men and women. Neither my husband nor I agree with the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, but that is not your responsibility but that of our not so fantastic politicians. You have been faced with a thankless task, in awful conditions, with inadequate resources; and, as always, you are doing a fantastic job.


Janet Springate


ARTICLE HAS NO PLACE IN A FAMILIES MAGAZINE


Having had sight of the Spring edition I was extremely disappointed to see the article by Flt Lt Beckett on his experience in Basrah included.


I don't see what possible purpose it serves. There are very many wives, partners and children who are better off not knowing that their husbands/ fathers will be subject to '444 assassination attempts' in the form of rocket/mortar attacks. Quite obviously they get some information from the media but they are generally unaware of the frequency of attacks. I would suggest that the majority of servicemen would prefer to keep it that way in order to prevent further worrying and stress.


Does my wife really need to be reminded that a lights out approach and body armour is vital due to a constant threat to the C130? How do you suppose I convince a 16 year old preparing for GCSEs that he has nothing to worry about? I don't lie to my wife, I don't treat her as an idiot but I do choose what I tell her because it is my wish to protect her and my children. The article was informative and even useful to a degree but it has no place in a magazine for families.


WO Steve Marshall


CHAIRMAN’S RESPONSE: Dear Steve,


Thank you for taking the time to contact us and to air your concerns as this is the only way we will get to know if we are getting Envoy right (or wrong) for future editions.


May I first of all say that we regret any distress or concern this article may have caused to you or your family members as that was clearly not our intention, though we can appreciate that this article was pretty hard-hitting. We did, in fact, have a team discussion regarding this article when we received it and I take full responsibility for deciding to publish it in its entirety.


36 Summer 2008


My rationale for this was based on a number of factors but I recognise that we may have “crossed a line” here and that our judgement may not have been the right one on this occasion.


We were keen to develop a magazine that appealed right across the spectrum of serving personnel and their family members.


We do not expect all readers to read all articles in Envoy and we fully expect readers to skip over those articles of minimum interest to them personally. We like to think we treat our readership as responsible adults and that a certain amount of self-selection must go on – in the same way that some people would choose to watch ‘Ross Kemp in Afghanistan’ whilst others would prefer to exclude such programmes from their viewing.


It was, we felt, quite clear from the photographs and title what the article was about and we would expect some readers to read on, whilst others would not find the subject matter of interest. I take the point that children may access this magazine and that, perhaps, is where we failed to fully consider the potential readership of this article. As for the language used, again, we discussed editing the article but felt that it was not our place to try to sanitise the flt lt’s experience since none of us have served in Iraq. We felt that his report was honest and told from a personal perspective and that, if we decided to publish, it should be done in his words or not at all.


Clearly, you have strong views on this issue and we are keen to know if these are reflected across our readership. We therefore invite all readers to email us via our website whether such articles should be included in Envoy in future. We are genuinely interested in your views and will respect the wishes of the majority, whilst taking due account of the minority, whichever way the survey goes.


Thank you once again for contacting us and for allowing us to publish your letter as you raise an important issue and one we wish to consider further.


WONDERFUL SELLY OAK When I was initially advised that I would have to travel to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham for surgery, I was less than pleased to say the least.


As an ex-Medical Assistant I had a great affinity with the Royal Hospital Haslar, and felt the standard of care offered there could not be replicated elsewhere. I also had heard a number of rumours about how Service personnel had been treated there. As I travelled on the train to


Birmingham, my anxiety levels began to rise.


Upon arrival though, all my fears were allayed. The standard of clinical and nursing care was second to none, indeed I would suggest that the whole care package for military personnel is exceptional. The welfare support offered is also of the highest order, and I found the Military Liaison Officers and Welfare Officers incredibly helpful and professional in conducting their duties.


MLO's provide free telephone and television cards to service personnel. The Military Ward is the only ward to have cooked breakfast every day. Once a week the MLO's escort those who are able to a local public house for lunch. The Welfare Department provide clothing, toiletries, DVD Players, Board Games etc. Once a week the MLO's distribute biscuits, juice, chocolate, crisps etc. that have been donated.


The chaplaincy cover at Selly Oak was also comprehensive and the Chaplaincy Team Leader visited the ward at least once daily. In fact, quite a poignant moment for me was when the Chaplain, a Gurkha Major, a Fijian Soldier, his wife and I gathered for prayer on the ward on Maundy Thursday. We Celebrated Holy Communion and had prayers for healing and peace. Very moving.


I was equally impressed with the pleasant and helpful demeanour of all the domestic staff. They certainly made my one week stay on Ward S4 far better that it may have otherwise been. They all did far more than 'just' clean or 'just' provide meals; they were very much a part of the whole in-patient treatment package.


I am aware that there have been challenges for the staff working at Selly Oak, but this in no way impinged on the care of patients. Indeed, a couple of civilian patients admitted to the ward commented on the exceptional care offered.


From my perspective I feel it is important to get the message out on how well cared for service personnel are at Selly Oak to dispel any rumours that may exist out there.


Additionally I feel it is vitally important that the staff, who do work in a challenging environment, are made aware and rewarded for the highly professional service they offer.


I would like to extend my most humble thanks to the whole team at Selly Oak as I now begin the process of returning to full duty.


Gary Keith


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