A DEBATE concerning the Armed Forces gave the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, a possibility to inform of his personal experience as “the daddy of a soldier”.
The Armed Forces Commissioner Bill puts forward “for the primary time, a genuinely independent champion to listen to first-hand from our Armed Forces”, within the words of its proposer, Lord Coaker.
At its Second Reading within the House of Lords on Wednesday of last week, Bishop Usher welcomed the move for what he called “a powerful, independent voice to represent the needs of service personnel and their families”. It would, he said, replace “the current system with the independent Service Complaints Ombudsman [in which] families of personnel are currently unable to submit a grievance”.
He went on to talk concerning the “invaluable work of Armed Forces chaplains, who’re embedded with their flock on deployment and infrequently live alongside them”.
On “the third anniversary of the terrible invasion of Ukraine”, he had joined the chaplain of the Irish Guards, alongside Australian and Ukrainian chaplains, for a service with “a big variety of Ukrainians”. It was, he said, “some of the poignant and moving services that I actually have attended: Ukrainians and their allies together remembering the immense sacrifices which have already been made.
“This is the bread-and-butter stuff of Armed Forces chaplains. They accompany an officer who has bad news for a family. They take heed to a young recruit understanding if this profession is for them. They quietly let the commanding officer know that the person she is about to see has something occurring of their private life. They sit consoling personnel who’ve just lost a comrade, and want to return on patrol. They anoint the injured and pray for the dead. They make sure that families have someone to show to when the clay beneath their feet begins to wobble. . .
“I hope that the Minister agrees with me that the work of chaplains, of all faiths, is an important investment within the well-being of His Majesty’s Armed Forces and their families.”
He asked about expectations for “the proposed commissioner to work with chaplains as a part of their transient”, and sought clarity on the strategy and definition for work with relations.
Several members picked up on Lord Coaker’s opening remarks about “the present crisis in recruitment, retention, and morale in our Armed Forces, at a time of accelerating global instability and heightened tensions”.
For Baroness Carberry (Labour), it was “indeed alarming that only 4 in ten regular personnel are satisfied with their service life”, and she or he also saw it as a “crisis in morale”. Viscount Stansgate expressed surprise at “the extent to which morale within the Armed Forces has declined and remained low”.
Referring to veterans, Baroness Hoey (non-affiliated) urged: “Do not forget that, in taking a look at how we treat our military today, if we don’t remember the service and dedication of those veterans who are actually, in lots of cases, seemingly being abandoned, we is not going to get young individuals who feel that going into the armed services is value while.”
As Minister of State on the Ministry of Defence, Lord Coaker summed up. He acknowledged how Bishop Usher and Lord Stirrup had “raised the entire issue of cultural change and confidence, and constructing confidence in the brand new person is completely fundamental. The Rt Revd Prelate mentioned the role of forces chaplains, and I believe we’d all pay tribute to the work of forces chaplains; we understand how necessary they’re. Of course, we’d expect the commissioner to work with forces chaplains in the event of their work, but in addition in understanding the final service welfare issues. Forces chaplains will likely be a very important source of evidence for that.”
Although “veterans will not be throughout the Bill’s scope”, he clarified, “small print about veterans . . . have been placed on the record”. Turning more broadly to culture, morale, and living conditions, he said: “It is unacceptable to proceed to examine a few of these items. We have to search out a way of adjusting this and of constructing a difference. That is what the overwhelming majority of those within the Armed Forces and people who run them want to attain.”
The Bill now proceeds to Committee Stage within the Lords, from 19 March.
