Our soldiers get killed – the top brass make a killing

Congratulations to the Sunday Times Insight Team for another great investigation. As ordinary soldiers get maimed and killed in the pointless Afghan war, retired officers have been making fortunes using their connections to flog weapons to the military. Most retiring top brass will get one-off taxfree payments of around £300,000 plus £100,000 a year pensions for life paid for by British taxpayers. But this is apparently not enough money for these puffed-up, corrupt, greedy scum. They want more and will sink to any depths to get it. Apparently one felt that £100,000 a year for about two days’ work a month selling weapons was just “reasonable” for prostituting himself.

As for those still “serving”, they do pretty well from taxpayers’ generosity too. Thirty two top officers get an amazing £156,000 taxfree a year each to help with their “household expenses”. Yes, you read that right – £156,000 a year taxfree each. That’s more than most squaddies’ homes cost to buy. Another 381 officers get £81,000 of our money taxfree each a year to help them with their “household expenses”. 

The father of one soldier killed in Iraq was quoted as saying: “My son was not given a battery for his radio or a £1.50 distress flare, so he was not able to signal for help when he was attacked. Yet the MoD seems to be able to find ridiculous amounts of money so the top brass has someone to mow their lawns and water their plants.”

Not only are we paying our corrupt, money-obsessed military bosses too much, both before and after retirement, but we also have too many of them. In the Navy we have 2 Admirals, 6 Vice Admirals, 33 Rear Admirals, 80 Commodores and 300 Captains for less than 40 fighting ships and submarines. I wonder what they do all day as very few of have them have big boys’ toys to play with. In the RAF we pay 26 Air Vice Marshalls, 90 Air Commodores and 330 Group Captains, yet we only have 820 planes.

Ordinary soldiers may be putting their lives at risk, but the top brass must love our seemingly endless wars as they are all making an absolute killing. If you know anyone serving in Afghanistan, please send them a link to this blog so they can see how cynically they are being exploited by their corrupt, overpaid, overpensioned military bosses.