Half of UK’s armed forces mull quitting: survey

In a survey of nearly 9,000 people in the army, air force and navy, the first of its kind, respondents cited the impact of overseas tours on personal life, pay and job opportunities outside the military as top reasons to leave. Excitement and pensions were listed as reasons to stay.

“There is a difference between thinking about leaving and leaving,” Defence Minister Derek Twigg told reporters. He noted that half also said they wanted to continue or extend military service. Twigg said there were many positive signs, including that military personnel overwhelmingly said they were proud to serve (93 per cent of army officers and 76 per cent of soldiers).

But Patrick Mercer, a member of Parliament from the opposition Conservative Party and a former army officer, called the findings worrisome. “British forces are very much up for the fight, but they are getting extremely tired of endless operational tours,” he said in an interview.

The survey found that 47 per cent of army and navy personnel “regularly felt like leaving the service for good”, 72 per cent of air force personnel and 59 per cent of army personnel thought morale was low or very low, 57 per cent of marines and 49 per cent of soldiers and army officers felt dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the standard of their equipment.

Though just released, the survey was taken in mid-2007, and defence officials said that since then a number of concerns have been addressed, including pay increases. A major plan to upgrade housing for military personnel has also begun.

Extra compensation is given to those serving abroad; a soldier completing a typical six-month tour in Afghanistan or Iraq receives a tax-free bonus equivalent to about $4,760. The base salary for an army private is $32,500.

Even as the survey found concern about the separation from family when troops are deployed, only 37 per cent said the tours came too often, with most saying the frequency was “about right” or “too few”.

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