This is utterly ridiculous. Would anyone really have taken offence from seeing an RAF airman in uniform, being treated in the A&E department of a hospital?
What on earth is wider society turning into?
wilf_san
āA member of the armed forces in uniform attended our A&E and was
asked by a member of staff if he wanted to sit inside the department
rather than the waiting room,ā he told the Sun.
āThis employee was acting in good faith because previously, there had
been an altercation between a member of the public and a different
member of the armed forces in uniform.
Donāt believe everything you read on twitter/facebook/the press. Could be a simple case of āwe asked him IF he wanted to, not because WE wanted him toā.
To be honest, iāve been in uniform to hospital A&Es before, with cadets and work, and i love that i get to sit away from Shaznay and Terry mouthing off to the staff in the waiting area.
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I too have been in myself in uniform and taken cadets whilst in uniform. On the occasions this has happened , weāve generally always ended up in a side room or quiet room away from the general public!
In one instance which clearly sticks in my mind, they moved us away because the cadet was plastered in full on cam cream and they just wanted to give them some privacy whilst they were cleaned up and made āmore presentableā!!
@Plt_Off_Prune ā¦sound advice indeed, never trust the mediaā¦ in most circumstances.
Note that in the above report, the hospital concerned issued an apology to the Sgt, plus Sir Michael Graydon said he was ādisappointedā.
So unless the papers have gone totally crazy, it appears he was asked, not that he offered, to move.
In the United States of America, people give spontaneous standing ovations to service personnel in uniform walking into a diner (I think this is excessive, but is an extreme example to illustrate the massive differences in public perception). I hope this hospital incident is not the tip of any icebergā¦
wilf_san
A few years ago it was all over the media about wounded soldiers being brought back from Iraq to British hospitals for treatment and some were still wearing items of uniform. This had - apparently - āoffendedā some muslims who were also in the hospital at the same time and the soldier(s) were asked to remove their kit.
If this were to be true (and Iāve no reason to disbelieve it), then itās this type of behaviour which to me, is extremely distasteful and offensive. We are a Christian nation and those from other faiths should be the ones who are tolerant but all too often we hear stories whereby the indigenous population have to submit to appease the minority on the grounds that WE should be more tolerant.
[REMOVED SWEARING]
Now Iām not suggesting that this recent issue with the Sgt is in anyway linked but itās one more example of our service personnel being treated less than favourably than they deserve, by certain elements of our society. What I read above is that the Sgt was asked to move based on a previous incident and Iām wondering of what political or religious persuasion the person was that was involved in the historical āaltercationā.
While we may not agree with what has happened being in an A&E or hospital is enough of a traumatic experience, so if there is the potential that someoneās presence may cause problems and the staff feel they need to take action we should accept it. Weāve taken our kids to the local one in the past and would have been grateful to be offered a separate room, given the behaviour and language of some of those waiting. Maybe I should have put my uniform on.
If this action hadnāt been taken it could have been a lot worse, an already injured individual becoming more injured and involved in a fracas, leading to a far more distressing headline.
This reminds me when my mateās ship was Pompey and they had a family day. Three of us (along with his family) went down a couple of days before, as we had been invited (7 had been invited altogether) to join his mess on a ārun ashoreā. We were all asked to leave one of the establishments we went into as the presence of āthe Navyā was creating the potential for trouble. There were a few words said, but we went somewhere different. Those of us who werenāt in The Navy were a taken aback got the impression this was nothing unusual. This was in 1984.
A huge fuss about nothing; a nurse/health person suggested something (seemingly in good faith) based on a previous incident, the sgt accepted it. I would have done the same for the extra privacy & peace & quiet.
Some members of the public are not nice people when it comes to the military; a couple of years ago, I was helping cadets to sell poppies. they were wearing uniform, I was wearing smart blazer & tie. One lady went by & hissed - :You should be ashamed of yourself, teaching those kids to grow up & be killers." We all shrugged it off & carried on as normal.
Was quite funny - a similar comment generated some rather liberal, anti-war comments from one of my work colleagueās friends on Fb, eventually I told her to go sprinkle more pixie dust around & take the unicorns out for a walk! 
Actually it is totally wrong that we go to War & consider that joining the military is a good careerā¦ Itās notā¦ killing others is wrong . Glorifying war is wrongā¦ I truly do wish that the world would have a massive shift in consciousness and be peacefulā¦ So far though it hasnāt worked.
There have even been āanti-warā comments made at airshows - when the person concerned has been coming to view nasty war machines! So, if someone at the hospital had a good intention to prevent possible disruption &/or discomfort, fine by me.
Yea, itās the forces that āglorify warā what with the constant training based on realism, the training of numerous medic qualifications. And the constant advances in medical and technical aspects.
And of course the ārealities of warā lectures you get in training where people leave after realising itās not Call of Duty.
Itās not the countless movies and games glorifying war and desensitising young people.
No no itās definitely the Forces. DOORKNOBS.
I am getting fed up with people making half assed excuses and gobbing off about stuff they have NO IDEA about. this stupid left wing pansy attitude.
A lot of lads disagree with the reason but you have to do it. No different to your manager in the office telling you to do something you disagree with.
The forces takes lads that otherwise have no aspects and gives them numerous life skills, experience and the chance to get qualifications so they can then go on and benefit society, by either starting businessā, getting into a trade, or the public services.