ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the public came to uphold the Military Covenant and re-set the civil-military relationship. The Covenant's migration from the military sphere is charted and the concept's catalytic effect on mustering moral support for the military is assessed. Military doctrine states that the Covenant's greatest manifestation is in the annual commemoration of Armistice Day, when the Nation keeps Covenant with those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in action. From 2003, the unpopularity of the Iraq intervention and the tepid support for the Afghanistan mission drove a wedge between soldiers and public. The Covenant's moral imperative of support in exchange for service and sacrifice provided a bridge between the military and civilian spheres that avoided the political controversies surrounding Iraq and Afghanistan. The civil-military gulf was narrowed to a gap between the two spheres, the civil-military norm in Britain.
