Sir, – There isn’t a week that goes by without reference in the media to the sad and continually declining state of the Defence Forces (“Naval Service staffing threat to sea missions”, October 28th) being the most recent in your paper.
The Department of Defence media carry many beautifully sculpted words and images about budgets, resources and priorities of strategic import.
The reality, however, is that the life of the soldier, sailor, air woman and man is one of continuous firefighting, trying to douse a multiple of administrative and operational incendiary situations caused by years of neglect and the constant perpetuating of reviews, reorganisations and “white papers”.
This country will have a huge Covid bill to repay in the decades to come. Consequently, I recommend the disbanding of the Defence Forces, thus saving on a defence budget ad infinitum which together with selling its considerable property portfolio would provide an immediate and considerable pandemic reimbursement payment available to the National Treasury Management Agency.
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The far greater remittance, in such a move, would be of truth, honesty, ethicacy and respect to Defence Forces personnel and citizens of this State by ending a dishonourable charade that multiple governments have recycled for years. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GANNON, Colonel (Retired),
Kilkenny.