Dear Editor,

I take this opportunity to stand in solidarity with the ex-service member who has taken a stance by sharing with the public how veterans are treated after serving for periods of over 30 years in some instances.

The Jamaica Observer‘s article entitled ‘JDF veterans suffering’, which was posted on August 2, 2023, outlines accusations of tardiness on the part of Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) in dealing with the affairs of veterans as it relates to pensions and retroactive payments as described by veterans in the above-mentioned article.

I served the JDF for over 22 years, and over the years I have witnessed both serving members and veterans having to put up with less-than-favourable conditions in the service of their country; however, the transitioning of a service member back to civil life will be my focus.

A soldier is entitled to a gratuity, a reduced pension, or a full pension upon completion of over 12 years, 18 years, and 22 years of service, respectively. There are several processes and documents that should be completed on behalf of a soldier leading up to the completion of his/her service; however, I will focus on the matters relating to monies to be paid over to the soldier if he/she is so entitled, such as gratuity and pension, payments in lieu of privilege leave not taken whilst in service, and 28 days terminal leave that is withheld for every service member pending confirmation that he/she is not indebted to the organisation.

All the processes necessary for a soldier to receive the final payment for 28 days terminal leave and gratuity and pension should be executed like clockwork once the soldier completes his/her clearance certificate and pension and gratuities form, respectively.

As it relates to soldiers leaving the JDF with accumulated leave payments outstanding, it is my opinion that the structured processes to be followed in order to ensure that an ex-service member is in receipt of monies owed are not being followed as it takes up to periods exceeding a year on occasions for individuals to receive these payments. It is unclear where the actual problem occurs in the chain of processes leading to the authorisation of payments, but the JDF should make a concerted effort to ensure that systems are put in place through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), if possible, to ensure that this matter is remedied and have payments made in the shortest possible time.

As highlighted in the recently published article, ex-service members have claimed they are still waiting for lengthy periods before they are in receipt of pension and gratuity payments, which is certainly unacceptable for this noble organisation and is undoubtedly contributing to the hardship and embarrassment that the men and women who bore arms for our country have to face.

The onus is on service members to complete their respective pension and gratuities application so that it can be forwarded to the DVA at least six months prior to their final day of service; however, in recent times and since the steady increase in the manpower of the JDF, there are indications that the DVA is not handling the task of preparing these applications for onward transmission to the Ministry of Finance in a timely manner.

Given the present attrition rate of the force, especially people more senior in service, the DVA seems to be woefully understaffed to cope with the flood of applications, and this is unacceptable to the men and women who have served this country. It is understood that a large number of applications for pensions and gratuities were awaiting processing at the DVA up to July 2023, and the staff is simply not available to dispatch them in a timely manner.

Reports are that ex-service members have visited that DVA in recent times just to receive updates as it relates to the status of their applications and there was no staff available to answer their various queries. It is, therefore, imperative that those responsible for the administrative arm of the DVA put the necessary systems in place as it relates to manpower and other logistical requirements so that our veterans will not face undue hardship and embarrassment during their transition back to civil life.

Oraine Pinnock

On behalf of veterans

pinnockoraine@gmail.com