The deafness controversy, so much a talking point at home, is rarely mentioned among our troops in foreign fields. Neither, indeed, does there appear to be any evidence of the affliction itself here.
Visiting Camp Shamrock this week, the Minister for Defence, Michael Smith, told Quidnunc he is raising the topic with individuals on the Middle East trip. He was telling them how much damage the huge claims were doing to the Army and how he will find it difficult to meet the expense of recruiting young people to the forces and of acquiring the new equipment, such as the APCs (armoured personnel carriers), that we need. But he is confident things will be resolved.
At a St Patrick's Day party in the Setanta Club, the other ranks' mess at Camp Shamrock, where two bands played - one drawn from among the troops and the other a local group - the volume of sound led Smith to mention other worries. He spoke privately of the alarming rise in hearing impairment among young recruits - from 10 per cent with a problem, to 20 per cent. He blames discos, mostly, and feels something has to be done.