Today’s defence related news includes coverage of the Chief of Defence Staff at the Cliveden Literary Festival.
Chief of Defence Staff at the Cliveden Literary Festival
The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Times and The Sun report this morning on the Chief of the Defence Staff’s appearance on a panel discussion at the Cliveden Literary Festival. CDS spoke about a number of areas, including cyber threats.
Homeless veterans
The Sun carries coverage of homelessness amongst military veterans. The piece includes and op-ed by Ed Tytherleigh, Chief Executive of Stoll, who says that veterans deserve the best support and that homelessness needs to be addressed.
A Government spokesperson said:
While the vast majority of former service personnel transition successfully into civilian life, no one, including veterans, should spend their lives on the streets. We are investing over £1bn to tackle homelessness, including a £1m fund for veterans at risk of sleeping rough in London. Under the Armed Forces Covenant, veterans with more urgent housing needs are eligible for additional preference for social housing and any service leaver who is at risk of homelessness is referred to their local authority for support as they transition back into civilian life.
Military Police investigations
The Guardian reports that the Royal Military Police Military police have launched 35 investigations into racially aggravated crimes over the past five years.
An MOD spokesperson said:
While the numbers shown in the FOI are relatively low, the Armed Forces do not tolerate racist behaviour in any form. Any allegations of illegal or inappropriate behaviour are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly.
Earlier this year we published a review into inappropriate behaviours and are currently in the process of implementing its recommendations.
Image of the day
Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon aircraft and personnel from II (Army Co-Operation) Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth, have deployed to Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Butterworth in Penang, Malaysia, in order to participate in Exercise Bersama Lima 19.
BL19 is an annual Five Powers Defence Arrangement (FPDA) Maritime/Air Field Training Exercise (FTX) and Joint Command Post Exercise (CPX) conducted to enhance the operability and mutual co-operation among the FPDA nations.