Yeah, it horrifies me. I don't think it's lack of goodwill, I just don't think people understand. I have Australian relatives and their vets get a lot of help, their kids apparently get reduced fees at university and so on, or so I was told. Yet in this country there's a real problem with homelessness for ex-servicemen. According to this briefing by our own government and a homelessness charity, it's a quarter of all people on the streets:
http://www.epolitix.com/briefings/article-detail/newsarticle/forum-brief-homeless-ex-servicemen/ I just find that horrifying. Once someone is no longer in the services, that's it. They're out. Veterans aren't treated as potentially vulnerable as a direct result of their service.
Having said that, it looks like something is being done in upgrading the main rehab hospital:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Militarymedicine/Pages/HeadleyCourt.aspx and it *did* have a hydro pool, just not one anyone could actually swim in. I was so ashamed of the country when William and Harry visited Headley Court and talked to one of the men who'd been flown back on the same plane as Harry, and they were saying that funds needed to be found for a decent pool.
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-561039/Harry-reunited-injured-marine-called-real-hero-Afghanistan.html These are people who've been maimed in their country's service. They shouldn't have to rely on fund raising efforts, IMO. I've always been opposed to the Middle East wars, but the troops go where they're sent and do the best job they can. It's appalling that they don't get looked after in return. I really do hope that the support W&H have given organisations like Help for Heroes has shone some attention on the gaps in provision.
It's also worth pointing out that £250,000 will buy a tiny 2 or 3 bed terrace in most of the south east of the country, and not even that in a nice area of London or the Home Counties. That's around the total payout of someone who lost most of their limbs. They'll struggle to work, they'll need a modified home, and if they were hurt that badly in a civilian industrial accident, they'd get massively more. I know funds need to be found from somewhere, and that somewhere would be taxes, but it seems all wrong for us to have the most generous Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme imaginable, while selling our servicemen and women short. We don't even equip them properly, and though they do get nice bearskin hats if they're changing the guard, proper armoured vehicles might be a better investment:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8542288.stm"Maj Sebastian Morley told the Daily Telegraph at the time that the Ministry of Defence's failure to provide troops with adequate equipment was "cavalier at best, criminal at worst"."
