THE Defence Department has defended a letter sent to troops which encourages them to pay for extra life insurance, after criticism by a Government minister over its wording.
It was reported yesterday the department had sent a letter that offered additional private life insurance to soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan from Townsville.
Offering the chance to buy extra insurance to cover their families' needs in the event of an accident, the letter states, ''The additional accident insurance costs for basic cover is less than a night out on the town for a few beers with your mates each month.''
The letter also admitted existing compensation provided by the Federal Government had been found ''not to be sufficient in some cases''.
Defence Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon said yesterday the letter was badly worded but he supported the underlying theme.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times