Is it right that Forces housing 'must be improved'?

Question

The leading story on the BBC news website today is that housing for members of our armed forces should be improved. I beg to differ. I think it would be irresponsible to give the gun toting scum anything have decent as they'd only destroy it themselves anyway. This we know, because at some stage the property pictured was obviously brand new. What happened to it? Well if we look at pictures from Baghdad we can see how they behave there so why wouldn't they do the same at home. Discuss.

Answer 1

Whilst I agree that Peter's remarks are insulting, I beg to differ with the comment that one should "be thankful that you live in a nation where you can disparage those who voluntarily risk their lives so that you may have the right to mock them".

Firstly, the Army is not an association of volunteers looking out for the good of the populous. It is a professional fighting force acting on the orders of a government, in this case, the British government. I fail to see what the current, or for that matter, previous government has done to ensure my security, in fact, as time goes on I feel less and less secure, yet I must admit, richer and richer. I'm not proposing to pay a security tax, I already do, nor am I knocking the bravery or commitment of the armed forces - I believe that the living conditions of everyone should be pleasant and comfortable.

Irrespective as to the conduct of soldiers in the British Army, whilst the government that gives orders to that army continues to pursue wars that are illegal in terms of international law, I won't be supporting any measures to spend money on improving their living conditions, I'd prefer that money were sent to Palestine or Iraq in compensation for what my government has done to create total misery in both places either by supporting or participating in illegal occupation.

Answer 2

Have you ever seen the housing that they put FAMLIES in, not just in pictures?? Here is what you are not being told 1) Family housing is at least 30 or 40 years old, least at the base I live on. 2) Every 1 or 2 years a new family moves in sometimes even more often than that, because the military member deployes and the family moves closer to their family, or they get transfered, or divorced, the list could go on and on. I know that the house across the street from me has had 8 families move in and out of there since we moved in a little over 14 months ago. 3) I know in the US that the military use to run and build the housing, some bases it still does, and the military would just build whole housing areas in a matter of about 8 or 9 months and I'm talking about 800 houses at the least.
So yes I do believe that housing must improve for the military and their families

Answer 3

Well, first of all, I am one of those "gun-toting scum" you mention. Not British, mind you, but Canadian. And it is a good thing that you put your comments in this mainly anonymous forum, because I can tell you that you would be completely off your rocker to refer to any soldier as such.

Now, you are right. At some point military accomodations were new. The standard U-shaped barrack blocks found on most Canadian bases have been new, once. Back in the 20's and 30's, sometime even before that. Half of the shacks at Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics in Kingston have been condemned several times over the last 10 years, they have mold issues, fire issues, security issues, heating and plumbing issues, and the list goes on. I have spent a cumulative time of 2 years in those buildings, and take my word for it, just about anything would have been an improvement.

And those soldiers who do destroy their barracks are a minority. Most of us just want that place to put our heads down, do some studying when on course, have a space to ourselves. Just like you do with your own home. In that regard, soldiers are just like civilians: we need somewhere we can call home, if only for a short time.

As for family housing, take a flight over to Canada and take a peek at CFSU Uplands and CFB Kingston's housing areas. They are doing major overhauls of the houses, but it's a little late. Yes, those houses have been new once. Over 30 years ago, if not more so. And a lot of them were built in the war years, to house large amounts of people in a short amount of time. I mean, the streets in the housing parts of Kingston are extremely bloody narrow, with a lot of one-ways, from the days when not every household had a car, and those who did never had 2 but only 1.

And before I sign off, let me remind you that were it not for "gun toting scum" and their "irresponsible, destructive behaviour" like myself and thousands of others who fought in various wars that you would never have the right to say what you just did.

Answer 4

I agree - it's good writing and an interesting introduction. The one thing I would say you could improve is sentence structure and variety. You tend to use a lot of sentences about the same length, as shown below: "A truck, covered in dried mud, pulled up in front of one of the houses. A man sat inside, he was on the unfortunate side of fifty and balding.. Both his clothing and the interior of the truck was covered in dust and caulk. He stared at the house and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Next to the front door lay a mailbag on its side. Letters were scattered around it, indicating it had been dropped there in haste." I'm often guilty of this too so I'm quick to recognise it! More variety in your sentences will give the writing better rhythm, and you can use it to your advantage to speed things up or slow them down, and to create tension or suspense. Your spelling and grammar could do with a little work too. For example "She must of left it here" should be "She must HAVE left it here", and you mean breath (the noun) not breathe (the verb). In places you splice two independent clauses together with a comma, which doesn't read very well. They'd be better separated with a semicolon or a fullstop/period, or even joined together with another word (a conjunction). For example, "She wore a red, silken robe, it looked pasted on her body..." should be either: "She wore a red, silken robe. It looked pasted on her body..." or "She wore a red, silken robe; it looked pasted on her body..." or "She wore a red, silken robe that looked pasted on her body..." Grammar's pretty complicated if it doesn't come naturally to you, but you can learn a lot from reading published work, or buy a book that explains it all. Hope that helps. As I said; it's generally very good, but you asked for improvements so there you go! Good luck with your writing!

Answer 5

You're just a troll.


I'm in the RAF, serving my country so that scum like you have the right to free speech so that you can discredit us.

The boys (and girls) in Iraq and Afghanistan are true heroes, not scum like you. They deserve the best accomodation money can buy! I've been to Army camps and the accomodation is worse that our worst blocks, and that's saying something! We need better accomodation for these brave people who VOLUNTEER to serve their Nation!

Immigrants and scum such as yourself get better accomodation from the Councils than the Brave men and Women fighting for our Nation! You say that this is just? If a member of the military knew you, you'd get such a shoe-in! (Get pummelled!)

Answer 6

You make me sick. The reason we need base housing is bc their are idiots like you in the world that instead of respecting our troops throw cheap shots at them. We live off base bc the housing is so poor. Some of the homes that are newer were not even finished correctly (sheetrock still showing and what not). Its not fair for the guys that are lower ranking to have to go over seas and leave their families in those conditions bc they cannot afford to live off base. And their housing is not free - they pay for it. And what are you talking about destroy it anyway? Hello, when you move out of a house that you live on on-base, you have to leave it spotless just the way you moved into it. Your not even allowed to paint your walls you idiot. And you have to keep your yard cut a certain length. Maybe you are one of those guys that went into a recruiters office and they told you no and now you are just jealous that you cant be apart of something worthwhile. You do not deserve to live in this country.

Answer 7

Our service members and their families deserve a nice home to live in while wherever they are stationed at. Some of the housing I have seen in my time in service were piss poor. Over the last ten years I have seen vast improvement in military housing, it makes the family breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they don't have to live in a run down 50 year old house that has seen many families come thru it's doors. It gives the head of household something less to worry about once the servicemember is deployed abroad.

Answer 8

"I think it would be irresponsible to give the gun toting scum anything have decent"

well aren't you gracious. soldiers are humans, you know. and we do pay for our accomodation, too (a lot of civi's think we just get given it).
the best accomodation for single soldiers living in is comparable to a travel inn: single room, shower, tiolet and basin.
with the new z type accomodation, food and accommodation costs almost £150, which, for a private on the lower pay band, is a huge amount of their wage. do you really think they're gonna destroy it? not to mention the **** they'd get into.

Answer 9

You sicken me. Those homes were poorly-made, temporary accomodation from the 1950s.
I've seen many nice flats/houses given for free to undeserving yobs and scum, such as yourself. And also, immigrants that speak no English have better homes than some members of our Armed Forces.
Show some respect for the people that fight and die to defend your freedom and your disgusting way of life.

Answer 10

You silly boy, all properties need maintenance at some time or other or they start to fall apart, even military properties.
Your lack of knowledge and understanding of the full facts and what these soldiers go through is qiute frightening really. It's the usual case of the sitting room commentator.