Female RAF recruits get £100,000 compensation each... because they were made to march like men

Women claimed injuries were caused by parading alongside male colleagues

They have been awarded compensation after a five-year legal battle

The women received more than soldiers who suffered wounds in combat



Three female RAF recruits have each been awarded £100,000 by the Ministry of Defence after suffering injuries caused by marching in step with their male colleagues.

The women claimed that parading alongside taller male recruits caused them to over-stride, a repetitive motion which, when repeated over several weeks, led them to develop spinal and pelvic injuries.

Now, after a five-year bitter legal battle, which saw the MoD accuse the women of exaggerating their symptoms, they have been awarded more compensation than soldiers who suffered serious gunshot wounds in Afghanistan.

Injured: Three women were awarded compensation for injuries suffered while trying to keep in step with their male colleagues

According to RAF official policy, female recruits should not be expected to extend the length of their strides beyond 27in. They should also be placed at the front of any mixed squad to dictate the pace.

But while undergoing basic training at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, the claimants were forced to extend their strides to 30in – the standard stride length for men on parades and marches.



Despite the fact that the women – aged 17, 22 and 23 at the time – were injured in the first nine weeks of their RAF training, they have been compensated for nine years of lost earnings and pension perks.



All have recovered and have successful careers outside the military.

The payouts come as the Armed Forces’ compensation bill for 2012/13 topped £108.9million – up £21million on the previous financial year.

Last night, former Defence Minister Gerald Howarth said: ‘This case is completely and utterly ridiculous – it belongs in the land of the absurd.



'The defence budget is strapped and we’re making 20,000 troops redundant, yet these former recruits are being paid six-figure sums.

‘The MoD must stand up to the compensation culture and get the wider public on its side. If the RAF has erred in its training procedures it is because of society’s obsession with gender equality.



'Every pound they’ve been awarded should be clawed back by offsetting their compensation against future earnings.’

...AS MoD CASH AWARDS LEAP TO £109M FOR JUST ONE YEAR

Payments to military personnel and civilians rose to £108.9million in 2012/13, the Ministry of Defence’s Annual Report reveals. The figure – which is up £21million from the previous financial year – has been inflated by troops claiming that negligence by top brass caused their injuries, and cases brought by Iraqi Nationals alleging abuse and detention by British Forces.

The MoD finally accepted the women’s injuries had been caused by a failure to observe guidelines over standard stride lengths for men and women, and for making female recruits carry the same heavy packs as male recruits.

Tracie Davies, who is 5ft 4in, was surprised to find herself marching alongside male recruits when she began basic training in January 2006 at the age of 22. Within weeks she was in agony.

She said: ‘The guys were over 6ft tall so I was over-striding to march in step with them.



'When I started getting pains in my groin I was told to march through it, even when I was carrying a heavy pack which was almost the size of me.

‘I trusted the medics to know better than me so I carried on marching. But eventually I couldn’t take any more and burst into tears. An X-Ray found four separate pelvic fractures.



'I was put on crutches and sent home on sick leave. My fractures didn’t recover sufficiently for me to complete basic training and in 2008 I was medically discharged.’

Speaking out: Last night, former Defence Minister Gerald Howarth said: 'This case is completely and utterly ridiculous, it belongs in the land of the absurd'

At the time, RAF officers advised Miss Davies to apply for a payment as part of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, a fund used to compensate military personnel for the pain and suffering caused by battlefield wounds and training injuries.



She accepted a one-off sum of £3,000 and thought no more of it.

But in a disturbing example of the compensation culture engulfing the military, she was persuaded to sue top brass for loss of earnings.

This newspaper understands that at least five cases of female RAF recruits bringing claims against the MOD due to pelvic injuries suffered on marches are being litigated.

Miss Davies, 29, of Odiham, Hampshire, added: ‘My friends and family were pushing me, saying I should seek compensation on the basis that I’d joined the RAF to become an air traffic controller but this was no longer possible.



'I spoke to my lawyer and he said I had a case. I couldn’t afford to become an air controller in the civilian world, because it was mega bucks to do the training.



'I became a legal secretary. The injury no longer affects me but it did for a few years.’

Her lawyer, Jeremy Taylor, also revealed how the MoD claimed that the women had exaggerated their symptoms.

‘This was a very serious allegation; they were accusing our clients of dishonesty,’ he added. ‘We asked them “Are you really saying that?”



'They came back and said they were. They made a fuss about it. Blaming the women was not justified.

'I WAS IN SUCH AGONY I COULDN'T DRESS MYSELF'

Agony: Tracie Davies Tracie Davies had no history of pelvic stress injuries, before she joined the RAF aged 22 in 2006, hoping to become an air-traffic controller.

Although the job was office-based, she was expected to complete marches and assault courses.

The 29-year-old, from Odiham, Hampshire, right, said: ‘By the fifth week I was in agony – the other female recruits had to help me get dressed.

'The injury hurt for a few years afterwards but thankfully no longer affects me.

‘Earlier this year the MoD accused me of causing my own medical discharge by malingering and grossly exaggerating my symptoms, which was ridiculous.

‘The RAF itself was to blame because it failed to account for the physical differences between male and female recruits.

'They should have separated us and put the smallest people at the front of the march.’

‘I had never seen a case where costs were run up unnecessarily. The MoD got rid of its medical expert when he ended up agreeing with us.



'The RAF has a major problem with its female recruits suffering pelvic stress injuries because it has ignored its own guidelines on standard stride lengths and male and female recruits marching together.’

The action brought by Miss Davies and the two recruits will cost the taxpayer £600,000 because the legal costs are estimated to be as high as the compensation payments.

An MoD spokesman said: ‘When compensation claims are submitted, they are considered on the basis of whether or not the MoD has a legal liability to pay compensation.