British troops are facing crisis of morale, warns army head

Published: 8:00AM GMT twenty-eight February 2010

General Sir David Richards attends a discussion on the UK armed forces in executive London Photo: AFP

General Sir David Richards, arch of the ubiquitous staff (CGS), pronounced counterclaim bill cuts are carrying a "cumulative and erosive outcome on the soldiers and their families".

In a trusted breeze memo rebuilt for ministers he wrote that soldiers and their family groups felt "undervalued". The armed forces arch criticised the diagnosis of infantry on their lapse home from duty, rather than whilst on duty.

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His comments will relate those done by his predecessor, General Sir Richard Dannatt, last year, when he criticised apparatus shortages.

Marked "restricted", the memo reports a outline of an inner "poll" of 5,000 soldiers and their family groups at units in Britain, Germany and Cyprus over the past 4 months, The Sunday Times reported.

"My biggest regard ... is the deteriorating experience of soldiers and their family groups ... in in in between tours which, the [survey] group reports, is disaffecting attitudes, deleterious spirit and risks undermining the capability to means the debate ..." he wrote.

"We need the soldiers to be ready, mentally and physically, to continue steady tours in Afghanistan, in a oppressive environment, with the genuine awaiting of poignant casualties each time.

"To say the required spirit and cohesion, they contingency see discernible signs in in in between tours that they and their family groups are valued."

In Jul last year the armed forces was told to have cuts of �43 million in sequence to assistance the Ministry of Defence encounter the bill targets.

The memo continues: "The group reports the accumulative and erosive outcome that [such cuts] are carrying on the soldiers and their families.

"As CGS, I register an early regard about the stroke on morale, the potentially serious downstream stroke on influence and the capability to means the debate in the longer term."

An armed forces orator said: "The inform records that soldiers feel increasingly well upheld and resourced on operations and praises healing caring in-theatre and in the UK.

"It additionally relays concerns about the outcome of monetary vigour on wake up in in in in between operational tours and provides early notice of the ensuing stroke on morale. Resources are parsimonious at the impulse and Afghanistan is the main effort."