The Conservatives created the Armed Forces Covenant to make sure that we honour the social contract that we have with service personnel and their families.

After more than a decade of significant military commitments, it is right that we make sure those who defend us get fair treatment at home.

This year we remember conflicts of the past, a century on from the battles of WWI seventy years from the end of WWII and two hundred years from Waterloo.  But those who served in the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Iraq must never slip from our minds nor those who have served in less high profile places.

I've spent over twenty years in the reserve forces and I intend to make sure that we never forget the sacrifice and commitment that our armed forces and their families have made on our behalf.