ABSTRACT

This chapter examines developments in public policy in connection with the Military Covenant after August 2009. Although the Covenant retained its moral force as a result of military service and sacrifice that were manifest in Afghanistan, the Army had lost control of the concept. Various civilian actors championed and re-interpreted it. It highlights, in taking the Covenant from the moral realm, the Coalition government had to avoid entanglement in the legal component; that is, any legal liability associated with possible breaches of its statutory Covenant contract. The chapter examines how policy-making in connection with people issues was guided by the principles of no disadvantage and citizens-plus; that is, whether the Forces' community should be given privileged access to public services by virtue of military service. The value placed on military service is one aspect determining the health of the civil-military relationship. The military solution was the invention of the Military Covenant.