There will be a new Bushcrafty group in my area :-)

[FishyFolk]

Have just been asked by the veterans organisation I am a member of, if I can help start up a local "outdoors" activity group for millitary veterans and their famillies.
It will be very low key and low treshold. Simply to start a fire, and get the kettle on, somewhere in the hills, near a parking lot, to sit around the camp fire and solve world problems.
The cost for the veterans will be *drumroll* .... Nothing!

They will provide a small budgett for brew and grubb, a camping stove and a daypack for me :-)

If we get any commers, we may develop it into something more advanced, but that is the whole plan, and I like it :-)

Maybe an idea over there....and if allready implemented, please share any ideas that may work. :-)

Anyway, I accepted :-)

Now I just have to go on facebook and drum up som veterans who like to freeze their butt off.

[Tony1948]

Nice one Rune,good luck with that, sounds a great idea bud.

[Rasputin]

That will keep you out of mischief Rune or not knowing what vets are like when they get together, good luck to you

[FishyFolk]

That will keep you out of mischief Rune or not knowing what vets are like when they get together, good luck to you

They are a constant blazer wearing, medal dangling, boring, sobbing pain in the butt. The WW2 generation is gone. And they had a constant struggle to get their rights.
The next generation are from the early UN actions in Korea, the Kongo, Gaza and The Sinai and the early years of the south Lebanon Norbat batalions. If the WWII veterans where treated badly, this lot was not even recognized by the various governments who deployed them, nor by later governments.

Then you have my generation that picked upp the latter half of the south lebanon batalions (we where there for 20 years), Somalia, Gulf War 1, and the Balkans from beginning to end. We finally managed to get noticed.

And then you have the current lads from the Gulf War 2 and Afghanistan. We never see them, beacause they never show up on veterans arrangements. Basically because of all the Blazers and medal swinging. That put off even my generation. So the people at these things are basically in their sixties and older.

WHat we are trying to do is to change all of that, by doing something that is as unformal as possible. No blazers, no speeches, no wreath laying, singing of national anthems and church parades.

That said. There is nothing wrong with all of that. It was what their generation needed and wanted. And nobody can take away what they have sacrified for all of us. It's just not what my generation and younger needs....another problem is that those that do show up are retired officers. Few ammong the ranks bother....

Just a fire, some hot brew, and some hot dogs, and comradeship, is what we are after. And I have this from a lot of them that I chat with on FB.

If I get 1 Veteran there, besides me, I count it as a success and next time, maybe we will be 3.

[FishyFolk]

I'll give you one example on how the WWII veterans of Norway where treated.

When the Nazis invaded Norway, we had the largest merchant shipping fleet in the world. And uppon the German invasion, almost all the ships immediately sailed for allied harbours, and where later deployed for Convoy duty. The majority in the Atlantic from the USA to the UK,and to Murmansk.

30% of the supplies that reached the UK during the war was brought there on Norwegian ships. Around 4000 sailors lost their lives under horrible conditions, specially on the Murmansk convoys.

All the Norwegian ships where gathered into one shipping company that organised the shipping, called "Nortraship". To save money, half of the sailors pay was deducted off their sallary, and put into a fund, to paid out to the sailors after the war. This was spent by the Government to pay for ammong others ships for the Royale Norwegian Navy etc ...

Anyway, after the war the sailors waited for the country to be rebuilt....actually they came home and built it. Yes the money would come, as soon as the government had them...the promise was.
Until one day the Prime minsiter said the sailors would not get a penny. They would just spend it on booze anyway. They did not even get a medal, showing they had participated in the war!

[Rasputin]

Oh dear Rune you dont sound like a happy man ! Our merchant navy lads were not really appreciated for their contribution and loss for a long time after the war either. Still you never know they may just get into it big time again good luck

[FishyFolk]

It makes me furious!

But the new generation recieves at least the recognition they deserve. But a wounded veteran still have to fight the system for years before any compensation is paid out.

[OakAshandThorn]

It makes me furious!

But the new generation recieves at least the recognition they deserve. But a wounded veteran still have to fight the system for years before any compensation is paid out.

This sounds similar to the US department of Veteran's Affairs (VA)...they are still being obstinate morons with the Viet Nam vets, especially those who were poisoned by agent orange and now have cancer.

[Dreward]

I'll bet a lot of those WW2 veterans docked in my home town Rune...the Nazis threw everything they had at it to try and close the docks. If they had of succeeded then Britain would have been starved into submission, Churchill wouldn't even mention the name in dispatches all he would say was " a northern town got bombed ". Those men that crewed the ships were extremely brave men and the whole of Britain owe them the respect and appreciation for what they did.

[Valantine]

I really hope it works out for you Rune because it is a wonderful idea and will allow the vets to socialize with other vets. They should never be forgotten.