Postbag

Pay rise to purchase

I WELCOME the recent announcement to make home purchase easier for Army families but wonder if this will be matched by a significant rise in pay.  ...

Disunited state

NOT having an allowance to cover the cost of flights at half-terms for our sons to visit us in the States is one of the biggest heartbreaks of our cur...

Complaint conundrum

I WAS made redundant in tranche two of the Armed Forces’ redundancy programme – just 87 days short of reaching my 16-year immediate pension point. ...

Positive move

I’D LIKE to put something positive across about the sometimes negative subject of moving when posted. I have just completed a move with my partner,...

Promotion postponement

THE ARMY has a bizarre way of rewarding promotion. My husband was selected for advancement but will have to remain in his current regimental post beca...

Dry cleaning discussions

IN MARCH 2012 my husband contacted HMRC in relation to claiming a tax allowance for the cleaning of uniforms. We received a letter which said that dis...

STAR LETTER: Counting the pennies

I REMEMBER reading a letter in the AFF Journal from an Army spouse who highlighted the fact that the chain of command were not taking into account the...

Working the land

As families find their living expenses exceeding their income could the MOD be persuaded to create allotments on Army land? Local allotments are often...