ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to establish the Covenant's impact on the Army as an institution and on its soldiers. It highlights how the Army rediscovered the concept and how it was used by senior commanders not only to muster civilian society's support for soldiers if not for the combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in which they were involved but also how it reframed people issues concerning soldiers' welfare. Those issues particularly concerning the healthcare of soldiers involved in frontline operations became increasingly emotive among the civilian public and consequently evermore politically contentious. It examines the decision-making process that allowed British forces to play a leading role in an expanded North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO mission in Afghanistan, which has been under increasing scrutiny. Although any Chief of the General Staff can be expected to defend institutional interests, especially at a time when soldiers are involved in two concurrent combat operations, the chapter examines how far Dannatt challenged existing civil-military norms.
