AM not surprised at the security shambles, which has resulted in 3,500 military personnel being seconded to the Olympics.
The announcement coincides with a stinging letter to the Daily Telegraph from three highly respected former servicemen which, paraphrased, says the Armed Forces have just about had enough.
Many of the troops new guarding our Olympic venues, including the Sailing Academy on Portland, are just back from Afghanistan.
Anticipating some well-earned leave with their families and friends, as a former soldier I can assure you they will not be enamoured with this unexpected role.
Senior military sources have told me that soldiers are being pulled off promotion courses.
When I asked the Defence Secretary about this in the House on Monday, he could only say he’d look into it.
Mr Hammond believes the Armed Forces exist for contingencies such as this foul-up by private security company G4S.
I agree, to a point, but not when, as I suspect, this could have been avoided with closer monitoring.
Unlike civilians, service personnel have no contracted rights to holidays.
Of course, they understand this, but it mustn’t be abused, all the same.
A smaller army is inevitably going to make it harder to sustain our many commitments, not least supporting the civilian authorities.
One consequence, as the letter to the Daily Telegraph points out, is that the best officers and non-commissioned officers will continue to leave in droves.
When we came to power, we enshrined the Military Covenant into law.
It states that British soldiers “must always be able to expect fair treatment … and that they (and their families) will be sustained and rewarded by commensurate terms and conditions of service”.
These are fine words, but can we seriously hope to honour them with our service personnel stretched to breaking point?
As the letter concludes: “The Government should recognise that the Armed Forces are unique in the service they give the nation, and that they have been plundered enough.”