Is the new "Operational Welfare Fund" cost cutting by the backdoor?

Last weekend I stood outside our local Tesco store helping to collect money for the Army Benevolent Fund. I mention this not to win brownie points, but to demonstrate that I hold our Armed Forces in the highest esteem, particularly those who find themselves struggling once they are discharged.

So you might expect me to be enthusiastic about this week’s announcement by the Government that they have set up what it calls the “Operational Welfare Fund” and which will be administered by The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).

The Ministry of Defence maintains that the OWF represents an excellent way in which members of the public can demonstrate their support for Armed Forces personnel deployed overseas.

Having read the MOD press release I have a number of reservations about the proposal, but that could be down to my natural cynicism about the way our present government operates.
 
Of course I welcome any additional support for our Armed Forces, particularly those on the front line, however, I am not convinced that that additional support should be delegated to a charity, even an excellent charity such as SSAFA.
 
I might be old fashioned, but I believe it is the duty of the Government to look after the welfare of soldiers on the front line, those troops should not have to rely on charity for their welfare or to "make life on operations a little brighter", which is the phrase used in the press release. The concept of an "Operational Welfare Fund" seems to abrogate the Government's duty of care towards our servicemen and women.
 
In my opinion the role of charities, such as SSAFA, should begin once members of our Armed Forces are no longer in combat, whether they are wounded in battle, or, once they are discharged. During active service it is the Government which should provide our men and women with all the help, support and recreation they need.
 
It seems that the main idea behind the OWF is to discourage members of the public from showing their appreciation by sending festive parcels to service personnel. Apparently this is a reaction to the way in which "the operational mail system can be swamped by the public's generosity".
 
Yet the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson, admits that "parcels from the public are without doubt popular with recipients", that being the case, why are they trying to stop them?

Surely the answer is not to set up another charity to channel the goodwill of the public to front line troops, but it is to take steps to increase the capacity of the forces mail delivery system so that it is not "swamped".
 
I am afraid that increasing reliance on the OWF to provide members of the Armed Forces with the welfare they deserve, which is what Vice Admiral Wilkinson hints at, looks like a cost cutting exercise by the back door.

I hope I am am wrong, but I fear not.

I simply have no faith in the goodwill of the present Government.