SAVE OUR BLUEYS
Forces families’ fury as MoD cuts precious blue E-letter link to our boys on front line
THEY are the heartfelt dispatches written by loved ones and treasured by battle-weary British troops fighting thousands of miles from home.
During the UK’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, military families sent millions of letters – known as EBlueys – to soldiers, easing the pain of their separation and the anxiety over the dangers they faced.
But now penny-pinching Defence chiefs have decided to cut off this precious link between home and the battlefield in a ‘sad and shortsighted’ move that is expected to save just £1million a year.
Soldiers received the E-Blueys through a secure, password-pro- tected website that their loved ones at home could access.
The electronic messages were then printed out on paper at the front line so that soldiers could carry them around with them in their backpacks – unlike emails or social media messages, which are confined to a computer or phone.
The system was also much faster than airmail, reducing delivery times from weeks to hours.
These advantages meant E-Blueys became hugely popular with soldiers and their families. Last night,
Army welfare groups and military wives expressed fury over the decision, which comes as about 1,500 UK troops are fighting Islamic State in the Middle East and 800 British forces are being sent to the Russian front line in Estonia to confront President Putin’s soldiers. About 500 British soldiers also remain in Afghanistan.
Prince Charles is among those who have praised the role played by EBlueys in maintaining morale. Speaking while his son Prince Harry was serving in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter pilot, he said the letters to and from the war zone provided precious consolation for distressed families.
Last night, Conservative MP Johnny Mercer, who served as an Army officer in Afghanistan, called for the system to be retained, saying: ‘We should definitely keep this capacity to deliver letters via the internet to troops.
‘It would be such a shame if this was lost for ever because I remember just how meaningful the EBlueys were to me and my wife while I was away.
‘We would write them almost daily and there is definitely something special about receiving a letter – it is more meaningful than an email. I’ll never forget the E-Blueys being handed out and taking my letters back to my cot [bed] and reading privately for a few moments.
‘It was far more intimate and reassuring from a morale point of view than sitting at a bank of computers at an Army base and simply reading messages online while surrounded by lots of other soldiers.’
Last night, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the EBluey service would cease on March 31. Defence sources said the move had been triggered by more troops using social media and other modern ways to keep in touch with their families.
But soldiers on the front line are often ordered not to use their mobile phones and social media for security reasons.
The MoD has pledged to reinvest the £1 million savings to help improve wi-fi provision at overseas locations.
Troops and their families will also be able to send handwritten letters – known as Forces Free Air Letters (FFALs).
E-Blueys were invented in 2000 by Royal Logistics Corps officer Brigadier Barry Cash as an alternative to airmail. The bulging mail sacks would take up valuable space in cargo aircraft which could have been used to send first aid, ammunition and weapons instead.
E-Blueys were first widely used from 2003 when British troops invaded southern Iraq. By the height of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 100,000 were being sent every month.
Last night Brigadier Cash said: ‘This is a sad and short-sighted decision which understandably has caused concern for families of troops serving overseas. It is hugely important to morale that troops receive messages from home. The E-Blueys did this very quickly and cheaply, saving money and space on military transport. The system was hugely popular and for the sake of £1million this move seems most unwise.’
The Army Families Federation (AFF), which represents soldiers and their relatives on welfare issues, told The Mail on Sunday that the decision had caused ‘distress and worry’ in the military community and that the organisation had sought clarification from the MoD over why it was made.
With hundreds of UK troops being
I do have at least some understanding of what your loved ones are going through. There is some consolation in sending an E-Bluey, or in the case of my son Harry, to receive a rare and precious letter in response to mine PRINCE CHARLES ADDRESSING MILITARY FAMILIES IN 2012 ‘This is a very sad and short-sighted decision’
sent to Estonia this year, security experts have raised concerns that Russia will attempt to hack British military communications, including unprotected conversations on social media platforms.
The MoD said: ‘The welfare of our people is very important to us and we’re committed to making sure they can keep in touch with their families. That is why we’re updating our service and reinvesting E-Bluey funds into ways of communicating more suited to our modern Armed Forces.’