Not good enough

I have not posted on this because on the surface this seemed like an unfortunate mistake. I don't think the Prime Minister is responsible for the mistake, we can hardly expect the man to be everywhere looking over every Australian government official's shoulder, we cannot expect that of the minister either. However I do not think it is too much for us to ask that our soldiers be treated with respect and dignity.
A SENIOR army officer will head an inquiry into how the body of Private Jake Kovco was left in Kuwait and the body of a Bosnian soldier was flown to Melbourne instead.

Defence head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said an assessment of what went wrong was being conducted today and an inquiry would start next week. The body of Private Jake Kovco, 25, was due to arrive at Melbourne airport early this morning ahead of a funeral with full military honours - but the wrong casket was brought instead.

Mr Nelson said the bungle at a private mortuary in Kuwait appeared to have been made by a civilian contractor and not the military. "He was transferred to a US military mortuary then subsequently to a civilian mortuary," Dr Nelson told ABC radio.

"It appears that the private company that is involved with the repatriation of Australians who sadly lose their lives overseas, something happened between him being identified in the civilian mortuary and his transfer then to the commercial flight back to Australia."
From what I have heard on the radio, this private company is an American company.

That's right if you die on the battlefield a private company gets involved, the dead are now being outsourced, for heaven's sake, when we ask these brave men and women to go out into the battle field and fight for our skins; they don't start pulling out contracts, negotiations, receipts and bloody forms for us to sign here, here and initial there.

A wife has lost her husband, children their father, parents their only son, for the love of God is it too much to ask that we take care of our own, is there anything that is outside of the budgetary constraints of the bean counters, is that all it comes down to, dollars and bloody cents.

I am glad the Prime Minister has apologised to Private Kovco's family, he speaks for all of us for we as a country owe them a debt that cannot be repaid. All we can offer them are our condolences and prayers and to honour Private Jake Kovco.

I have faith that PM Howard will put an end to this crap about outsourcing, if we have to pay extra taxes so that our soldiers are brought back by their own, then so be it, we as a nation owe them that, to hell with the bean counters, just get it done.

No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments containing Chinese characters will not be published as I do not understand them