Couldn't agree more. Such draconian moves wouldn't exactly help to solve the recruitment crisis the profession is currently undergoing either.
I think you have a point. Do you have any examples to illustrate it? However, the laws soldiers are often found guilty of contravening have been in place for many years and are similar to the laws ordinary people are subject to: ie killing the enemy in inappropriate situations, say when they're being held prisoner, when it effectively becomes murder. No one is suggesting social workers are exempt from similar prosecutions, just from being prosecuted for making a mistake that leads to a bad thing happening. Surely soldiers would not be prosecuted for making a genuine mistake, such as killing colleagues in friendly-fire incidents, if they are proved to be as much.
I believe that in this case, the legislation isn't meant to punish or deter the making of mistakes but is instead will address deliberate malfeasance. In other words, it will duplicate what existing laws are meant to be doing when properly acted upon, but during the run-up to a General Election. There is, quite literally, nothing to see here. Move on.
It's not easy to understand what point you might be trying to make here, but let's have a go. Soldiers, like all UK citizens, are bound by the law. No soldier has ever been prosecuted for obeying a lawful order, of course, but if they commit crimes such as murder, torture, rape, or robbery, they are liable to be prosecuted, and if convicted sentenced - like everybody else. You seem to be saying that soldiers should be somehow exempted from the law, and never prosecuted even if they have apparently committed serious crimes. But that is such an extraordinary, outrageous proposition that surely I must have misunderstood you. So what do you mean then?
